ESPN-analytikern Chael Sonnen talade nyligen om vikten att marknadsföra sig själv. Han är själv känd för att ha lyckats oerhört bra i den aspekten som fighter, och riktade kritik mot de fighters som svarar ”whoever Dana wants me to” efter de vunnit och får frågan vem de vill möta i sin nästa match.
Den pensionerade trefaldige titelutmanaren, och nuvarande ESPN-analytikern Chael Sonnen (28-14-1) medverkade nyligen i MMA Junkie Radio. Som MMAnytt tidigare skrev om sågade han fjäderviktsmästaren Jose Aldo (25-1), efter hans beslut att dra sig ur mötet mot Conor McGregor (17-2) på UFC 189, och fördömde honom som misslyckad ur marknadsföringssynpunkt.
HETAST JUST NU
Related Posts
Charles Oliveira besegrar Chandler – PROFFSEN REAGERAR
17 november, 2024
Alexander Volkanovski om Jon Jones: ”KAN GÖRA ALLT”
17 november, 2024
UFC 309 – FULLSTÄNDIGA RESULTAT
17 november, 2024
JON JONES VINNER EFTER BRUTAL SNURRSPARK
17 november, 2024
Sonnen reflekterade även ytterligare kring marknadsföringsaspekten inom fighting, och uttryckte sin förundran över alla fighters som efter vinst tillfrågas vem de vill möta i sin nästa match – och svarar ”whoever Dana wants me to”.
“Sometimes, I think the guys aren’t even paying attention. Nobody wants to hear less after a guy wins a fight that he’ll fight whoever [UFC:s matchmäklare] Joe Silva and [UFC:s VD] Dana White want him to. It’s definitely the single worst answer out there, and Dana White has told people that in the back, at fighter meetings, after weigh-ins, before we go out there. He’ll say, ‘Listen, when the fight is over, the people want to hear who you want to fight next. They don’t want to hear about your sponsors and your god and your political beliefs. Tell them who you want to fight next,’ sa Sonnen.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you tell them. The fighter comes out, looks right at Dana and says, ‘Whoever Dana wants me to.’ That’s not a good answer. No boss wants to hear that answer.
“The moment one fight ends, the marketing for the next fight begins, and you have no better opportunity. This is your market; the audience watching that pay-per-view are the ones you need to speak to more than anybody else, and there’s your chance.”
Sonnen fortsatte och menade att det alltid är positivt att göra sin chefs jobb åt honom. Och det måste inte bara handla om att ge en exakt önskad motståndare – men att ta tillfället i akt efter din vinst att öka på din aktie ytterligare. Han kopplade till tungviktaren Ben Rothwells (35-9) segerintervju efter submissionvinsten mot Matt Mitrione (9-4), men fördömde sedan beslutet att öppet uttala att man gjort något av den enkla anledningen att få mer uppmärksamhet.
“Bosses love it when you do their job for them. Joe Silva loves it when you come to him with an idea. ‘Great, you just did my job for me.’ And somewhere that most basic concept is lost. Here we are on MMAjunkie, the biggest radio show in our sport, and guys still aren’t going to get the message. They’re still going to come out next week. They’re going to look through the fence, as though there were some sort of adoration he’s going to feel for them that they want to be his puppet. He doesn’t want puppets.
“Feel free to do Dana’s job for him. Feel free to make your case and say who you want to fight, and guys just don’t do it. Even [Ben] Rothwell – Rothwell came out of his shell, he did a crazy interview, but God bless him, we were all talking about the interview. So there is an effectiveness there.
“The downside is when they ask him why he did the interview and he says, ‘To get attention.’ To do something for attention, don’t let the curtain down and show everybody that you did it for attention. It takes away from the attention. Just do it. Let the rest of us figure it out. But these guys in MMA have to be loved so much, they can’t stand even the smallest time of not being loved. They can’t stand one negative comment on Twitter, so they try to unfry that egg constantly. Just come out, say your piece, and walk away. Whatever the result is, the result is. But don’t backtrack, ever.”
Sonnen lyckadesn själv marknadsföra sig oerhört väl som fighter under tiden i UFC, vilket i kombination med en del goda prestationer över hyggligt motstånd bland annat genererade tre titelchanser.
Enligt honom är de två dagsaktuella fighters som lyckas utnyttja marknadsföringsaspekten till fullo Ronda Rousey (11-0), som håller i den kvinnliga bantamviktstiteln och medverkar i flertalet filmer, samt Conor McGregor (17-2) som med bara fem vinster i oktagonen vuxit till en superstjärna och säkrat en titelchans, medan vissa redan spekulerar i huruvida han kan vara bäst någonsin.
“Ronda’s numbers are starting to change. She’s been called the biggest draw in the sport. That isn’t true, but I think it will be. I think over time, I think that she’s got the right appeal and that she’s definitely won a lot of people over. As far as Conor goes, he’s got some naysayers, man, but they’re not near as loud as the people that support him. They’ve done a $7.1 million gate and [his fight against short-notice replacement Chad Mendes at UFC 189] is almost two weeks away. I think that speaks volumes.
“Those are two more people that were a lot like me. They said a lot of stuff, but they show up, and they fight anybody, and they don’t pull out of fights.”
Amerikanen menade att han själv hade tre regler för sin karriär; han skulle säga vad han ville, möta vem som helst och aldrig dra sig ur en match för någon som helst anledning.
“I had a rule: I would say whatever I wanted, however, I would fight any man out there, and I will never, ever pull out of a fight for any reason. Point being, I’ll say it, but then I will give you the chance to make me answer for it.”
Foto: Per Häljestam
