The Mighty Mouse Quandry

[Hollywood Cibernetico]

It's late over here and I have work tomorrow, so I will add more thoughts later. As threads as being closed down when a Johnson/Sports Entertainment debate comes up (as they often tend to derail the thread), I thought I'd create this one.

 

So what's going on with this guy? Mighty Mouse claims to be doing all of what is being asked for him while as it pertains to his media rounds, while making these rounds with zero charisma and with the obvious enthusiasm of a child doing his Saturday morning chores. Might Mouse has said he doesn't care if the fans watch him or not and that he only has one job and that's to fight. Dana White on the other hand doesn't care if people leave during a UFC main event that features Mighty Mouse headlining. Might Mouse and his fans thinks Zuffa/UFC should do more promotion of him while neither go into details of what 'more promotion' actually means and I believe each is using it as a scapegoat to escape the real problem with Might Mouse. Its not size, its charisma. Both promoter and fighter acting as though this is a non-issue in a REAL sport is just mind boggling to hear/consider in the 21st century.

 

I've heard people say that the 'simple' solution is for Mighty Mouse to change his style to a more exciting style. What stand and bang like an idiot and get knocked out in the first round?  But there is more to it then just switching up styles. There is no drama in any of his fights. Watching him fight, is like watching an instructional video. Everything is perfect, and really skilled, but not entertaining. When you have limited opponents, and exceptional skills, you have to create the drama.When a fighter is as dominant as Mighty Mouse, the fighter needs to manufacture the drama. The drama is created via personality as people now have  a reason to watch you win or lose. People want to see Mayweather get his ass kicked. People wanted to see a mentality unstable Tyson knock people out. Pro wrestling is FULL of sell out shows based solely on the tried and true narrative of heels getting their comeuppance and babyfaces getting redemption. The matches might not always been good, but the story outside the ring sold out (and continues to sell out) arenas worldwide.
 

 

I've said this in the past and would like to quote myself talking about Johnson and his complaints leading into UFC 174:

 

Listening to Johnson recently talk about how he isn't going to talk smack or anything to try and sell the fights left me completely puzzled. For some reason, he believes that doing interviews and making the mandatory rounds, while remaining completely uninteresting, is enough for a strong buyrate.

 

Yes you did do a ton of interviews DJ, but what did you say in those interviews to get people interested in buying the PPV?

 

Here’s a basic breakdown from DJ’s interviews to promote UFC 174:

• I’ve had the best training camp ever
• I’m in the best shape
• It’s going to be a great fight
• and mentioning 1000 times how much he respects Ali Bagautinov

He doesn’t need to promote in an over the top way like Sonnen, but he (and most of the current champs) need to stop this “golly gosh, gee whiz, I, I don’t talk trash, I don’t bark, I don’t want to be disrespectful to my opponent” crap when they’re interviewed. It sucks watching fighter after fighter piss away the promotional opportunities the UFC provides them and none is doing it better than Might Mouse. How is this guy going to become a bigger star and get fan interest if he and the promoter are both being too busy being heels by telling the fans to 'fuck off'? Why are neither Johnson nor Zuffa interested in making money off this guy? Why does Dana White think that THOUSANDS of fans walking out during the main event is no big deal?

 

Randy Couture has talked about fighters branding his/herself, Chael Sonnen has shown that having a forgettable MMA career and fading into obscurity can be offset by having a dynamic personality, and GSP has shown that having a million boring fights in a row with decisions left-and-right doesn't stop UFC 129 level of attendance and high levels of media/sponsor interest from happening. So why are people acting like the Sports-Entertainment aspect of this business does not apply to Mighty Mouse and that all he should/needs to do is show up and fight?

Mighty Mouse is at a disadvantage and he clearly needs to work to counter that. Instead he refuses to do so.Point blank refuses to promote himself.

 

So my question is, how should UFC promote Mighty Mouse? How should Might Mouse promote himself? Where is the line of sports and entertainment drawn when it comes to MM? The guy is drowning and it seems as though both him and Zuffa don't give a shit.

[Elsalvajeloco]

While there is a lot of truth there and I agree with a good portion of this, I think you have to look at how the whole system has designed by the UFC (pre and post Zuffa purchase). It's basically a system made up of scrap parts of boxing and pro wrestling built on the makeshift foundation of combat sports on television and PPV. You can look at it and view the qualities from those other places. However, at the same time, you have to look at it as something new. Boxing has significant problems. Pro wrestling has significant problems. That's where the big problems stem from. When you're this Frankenstein monster of a sport, you're always at the behest of those conflicts and problems. You're also getting this freakish and amalgamated fanbase, who are often displeased and frankly not willing to look beyond certain things. This isn't easy as athletes train, show up to the venue, compete, get paid, and then repeat. There are more complex issues that lie within.

 

But as far as most of those questions? I would say all of this is nothing that can be solved over the course one event or a series of actions on anyone's behalf. From watching boxing, kickboxing, and MMA for years, I would say it has never been that easy to solve. I mean Floyd Mayweather won Fighter of the Year in 1998 (two years and two months into his career) and still had to deal with eight plus years of people saying he cannot and will not be able to draw. He was scrutinized way worse than DJ because he had glimpses where he could draw (vs. Corrales and Gatti). People saw that as proof that he had a very low ceiling as far as fan interest. Now, he is less than five days away from fighting in perhaps the most lucrative sporting event ever. At the same time, Floyd is the exception and not the rule.

[supremebve]

The issue with your whole premise is that Demetrious Johnson doesn't have the personality to be a big trash talker.  He is a 5'3" guy with a squeky voice who seems to be really laid back.  If he was calling people out and talking shit there is a very good chance that we wouldn't believe it.  He is one of the best fighters in the world, and has been the most dominant male champion over the last couple years.  I think the biggest problem with him is the fact that no one has really challenged him.  Anderson Silva of all people didn't really become a draw until Chael Sonnen took him to the limit, and he is the best mixed martial artist of all time.  Demetrious Johnson is a great fighter in a division full of average fighters.  Until he gets an opponent that we care about, that we look at as a legitimate threat to his overwhelming dominance, no matter how much shit he talks we won't care.

[Elsalvajeloco]

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/8/18/9171641/ufc-191-demetrious-johnson-pr-teaching-blossom-flower-public-relations-mma-news

 

Dave Sholler basically told him what I said sometime ago

[TheVileOne]

Even GSP got criticized for a while for being boring and never finishing the fights he was handily dominating.

[Jiji]

 

... And now he's just trying to help me, you know, blossom into a beautiful flower I guess you can say.

Yes, a beautiful money flower.

 

When is UFC going to start holding promo classes?

[TheVileOne]

Is it something that's really teachable though?  I feel like you either have that natural charisma or aura or you don't.

 

Just case in point, you have freaking Jon Anik practically begging the fighters to do or say something interesting.  Call someone out or make their case, and then it's the same bland, "yeah I fight for the UFC, I'll fight whoever."

 

And then they go on MMA Junkie or MMA Hour or where ever and complain about the match-ups they are getting, saying they should be getting bigger fights, top 10 guys, blah blah blah.  FS1, PPV, or FOX are your big platforms to get fans interested in or behind you, or get them into a match-up you want to be in.  And then they are absolutely silent when they have that prime air time.

[Jiji]

I feel like speaking in front of large audiences is certainly something that can be improved upon through lessons. It's a state of mind that can be brought out by good teachers. Of course, there's probably a limit as to how far one can go but there's room for improvement with like 98% of the UFC roster.

[supremebve]

Talking in front of audiences can be improved on.  Talking in front of audiences, while answering questions, directly after you've been punched in the head a bunch of times makes that a great deal more challenging.  The problem with Mighty Mouse is that there is really nothing for him to say.  He has beaten everyone, so who could he call out?  He isn't exactly The Rock when it comes to charisma, and he's fighting in a weight class without a single marketable star.  He should be the Fox/FS1 Champion instead of a pay per view champion.  Let him, Dillashaw, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk headline the free shows and hope that they build an audience.  Putting Mighty Mouse on PPV and then complaining that no one is buying seems to be hustling backwards to me.  He's a great fighter, but is poor at promoting fights.  Put him in a position where he doesn't have to promote himself, and let his skills speak for themselves.  Stop trying to put his square peg into your round hole.

[Jiji]

They've been doing a good job of promoting just how skilled he is relative to other champions and fighters from the bigger divisions. He's a complete package with almost perfect technique at everything. He's incredibly special because he's probably what MMA ought to be and will become in the next 10 or so years. Now, just to find him some competition. Maybe Dodson lands a clean power punch and knocks him out. It would certainly make things interesting and it isn't beyond the realm of possibility. 

 

But, yeah, they should be building the strawweight, flyweight, and bantamweight divisions on free TV as much as possible. They've done it well recently with the Dillashaw/Barao card on FOX. It was kind of lame to have Joanna fight on Fight Pass, something nobody but hardcores would watch.

 

The alternative is to put their fights underneath one of their big draws on PPV, so lots of eyeballs are watching. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

Dominick Cruz isn't exactly cutting vintage Mid-Atlantic promos, but he is extremely poised when he talks and you can tell it's from a legitimate place. The problem is a majority of those times have been behind the analyst desk.

 

My point is you don't have to be this fiery person if intellectually you can handle yourself. Since Brock is in the news, I'll use the Brock-Mir dynamic. You had the large monster and really threatening guy in Brock Lesnar and then you had the "I'm super smart and going to school this meathead" Frank Mir. Mir can really talk and doesn't have to be super emotional about it. Brock Lesnar did the latter for him.

 

Outside of the cage, I believe that the problem with DJ is/was he doesn't want to make enemies from that. Going back to Cruz, you can tell he doesn't have any hesitation or qualms telling people how he feels. One of my biggest complaints early on the Fox era is that you didn't have anyone who would step away from toeing the company line. Now, you have have Dominick Cruz who is willing to destroy TUF jobbers who believe they're the best and tell them they're wrong. He will also tell Rashad Evans or someone else that their logic behind the result of a particular bout is stupid.

 

I don't believe that Demetrious Johnson is ever going to be Mr. 500k or Better on PPV, but there is something to being a reliable, successful mid size draw. During the whole Barrera, Morales, Pacquiao, and Marquez era of sub welterweight boxing, none of those guys were drawing insane numbers. However, you could count of them doing a respectable number (rating or buyrate) everytime out. Those guys had built-in fanbases though, and Pacquiao would start building his own fighting popular Mexican fighters. DJ doesn't have a ready made fanbase or someone he can use as a launching pad so he has to do it another way. Thus, he has to be more loquacious and be more business minded. As said I before, it's not like he is far from capable of doing that. Some of the reporters and journalists who have been to the shows and dealt with him know he is. His problem is (as Sholler put it) the self edit when he gets in front of an audience. He isn't Chael Sonnen, but you don't have to be.