The entertainment era of the sport has been good to the fans. It’s produced some of the most riveting rivalries and build ups in the history of the MMA, and has been the era in which some of the biggest stars have emerged. But is it too much of a good thing?
At a certain point the social media hoopla and the press conferences of fighters vying for sound bytes and memorable moments detracts from the special feel of it, and it starts to become mundane. Fans typically love the drama, but it does get to a point to where the overexposure of fighters all doing the exact same thing tends to wear thin among the fanbase.
Phony drama and trash talk at press conferences and on Twitter doesn’t work for everybody these days. Hell, it barely works for anybody at this point.
Chael Sonnen set the standard when it came to trash talk. Conor McGregor changed the game, and propelled MMA to new heights, thanks in part to his gift of gab. But his influence isn’t all positive. With many fighters on the roster putting in effort to self promote, the landscape has turned into a bit of a gong show.
Recently, Sonnen opined on his podcast that Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno failed at promoting their third fight, citing a lack of media among other factors. But is self-promotion really the only option; have we reached peak manufactured drama?
For further thoughts on fight promotion in the modern era, check out the video below.
