UFC Says Amanda Nunes Is The ‘GOAT,’ But Why Is World’s Best Female MMA Fighter Not A Household Name In US?; After All, UFC Is Owned By Endeavor, Biggest Talent Agency In World
By Cassandra Cousineau and Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
UFC makes stars.
Even before sports marketer/talent representer Endeavor purchased the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts promotion for $4 billion in 2016, UFC was creating bigger-than-life personalities like Ronda Rousey.
She was a former Olympic bronze medalist with a forceful personality who became a crossover star in both WWE and Hollywood after getting a healthy promotional push from UFC President Dana White.
But Rousey was eventually vanquished by a woman who would ascend to the top of UFC’s female class — Amanda Nunes, the friendly and modest Brazilian who pummeled Rousey on Dec. 30, 2016.
Yet, neither Endeavor nor UFC has made Nunes a mainstream star in the United States that even approaches Rousey’s profile.
As the reigning champion in both the UFC welterweight and featherweight divisions, the 31-year-old Nunes is considered the world’s greatest woman MMA fighter. But she doesn’t carry the marketing firepower of other talented women athletes like Megan Rapinoe (Sports Illustrated 2019 Sportsperson of the Year) or tennis superstar Serena Williams, who boasts a healthy portfolio of product endorsements.
When you consider Endeavor owns UFC, it seems strange and a lost opportunity for both Endeavor and UFC that Nunes is not a household name in the United States. In the past five years, not only has Endeavor purchased UFC, it has acquired two very different properties — the Miss Universe Organization and the Professional Bull Riders organization, which stages a big event in Las Vegas every fall. Endeavor is no stranger to promoting the kaleidoscope of athletes in the U.S.
Take a look at the UFC 245 signs and backdrops promoting the fight event at T-Mobile Arena Saturday night. There were three title matches topping the card and it’s the Nunes vs De Randamie fight that’s gets the third line of the three bouts. Attendance for UFC 245 was just under 17,000 at T-Mobile Arena, with a gate revenue of $4.04 million.
Nunes soundly defeated Germaine de Randamie in a unanimous decision for her 12th UFC win, with de Randamie surviving the multiple takedowns by Nunes to at least extend the bantamweight match to a full five rounds. In the other title matches, UFC welterweight champion Kamuru Usman defeated trash-talking Colby Covington with a fifth round TKO (Covingtom’s jaw was wired shut in what some Usman fans likely thought was poetic justice). And Max Holloway lost his belt to Australian Alexander Volkanovski in the featherweight division.
One of the promotional characteristics working against the authentic Brazilian is that Nunes does not engage in the three-ring circus atmosphere that surrounds many of UFC’s fight promotions. For example, while some fighters on Saturday’s same card like Covington — a Nunes training mate — goofs around with a pro-Donald Trump shtick, Nunes spurns the WWE-style pre-match trash-talking shenanigans. Here’s Covington this week at a panel discussion where he’s reading the president’s son’s book.
In fact, Nunes is so down-to-earth that she might be “too real,” so to speak, to fit into UFC’s cast of fast-talking characters like Conor McGregor and Covington. And keep in mind that Nunes has also defeated other high-profile women bantamweights like Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate and Holly Holm, besides Rousey.
Which is why UFC has depicted Nunes with a straight-ahead portrait as the “GOAT” — greatest of all time. And UFC is quite literal in that portrayal. Take a look at the UFC website photo.
Here’s the complete UFC website page on Nunes.
What’s perplexing behind Nunes’ lack of marketing attention is that well-known female athletes like Rapinoe and Williams also do not have the stereotypical Hollywood looks. In fact, Rapinoe is a lesbian who — like Nunes — publicly shares her life with her partner.
It seems as though Nunes would be ideal to be marketed to both the Hispanic and gay/lesbian communities.
In past interviews with LVSportsBiz.com, Nunes said UFC is doing the best it can at marketing her. LVSportsBiz.com asked Nunes after her Saturday win about whether Endeavor/UFC has approached her about sponsorship opportunities or growing her profile as a personality outside the Octagon. Nunes responded by saying it’s coming, she’s patient and happy with what she has now. “I’m a cage fighter. That’s my job.”
But consider Nunes is not even close to Rousey, for example, in money earned from her fights. Rousey used to get a $2 million payment from UFC because of pay-per-view drawing power, while Nunes is scheduled to make $350,000 for her Saturday fight, plus another $100,000 if she wins. So, Nunes made $450,000 Saturday.
The $350,000 payment equals the payout to fellow Saturday night former champion fighter Holloway, who lost to challenger Volkanovski in a unanimous decision. Nunes’ $350,000 payment is also $50,000 less than the payout to card headliner and welterweight champ Usman.
Nunes is making as much as the co-headliners. But as a two division champion — and the so-called GOAT as labeled by UFC — Nunes probably should command more if not a payout approaching what Rousey used to receive.
This would be an ideal time for UFC to push Nunes in front of mainstream U.S. sports fans because it has a juicy ESPN deal that includes the sports network broadcasting UFC programming on ESPN 2 during prime time hours. Then, there’s the ESPN+ platform that can be used to promote Nunes, while ESPN Deportes can market her to the Hispanic demographic.
Two Jabbawockeez members were at UFC 245 Saturday.
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