Trading Shots: Whose job is it to promote Jose Aldo, anyway?

In this week’s Trading Shots, is Jose Aldo’s coach right to say that promotion ought to be the promoter’s job? Or does his fighter have only himself to blame for his lack of firepower with fans? MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes and retired UFC/WEC fighter Danny Downes discuss.

Fowlkes: As I’m sure you’ve heard, Danny, Jose Aldo (26-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) wants out of the UFC. We’ve seen other fighters try that before, and it hasn’t gone well for them, but what I’m interested in your opinions on is a related issue, one brought up by Aldo’s longtime coach, Andre Pederneiras.

Earlier this week he said the UFC had done his fighter wrong and abused his trust to the point where the relationship might be irreparable. He also suggested that all those people who criticize Aldo as a fighter who doesn’t “sell” might be blaming the wrong party:

“I think there’s something that wasn’t built correctly in the UFC,” Pederneiras said. “Just because they built the UFC, doesn’t mean that everything they do is right. (The word promoter) entails promoting the event and the athlete. How many big athletes has the UFC made to sell more than 1 million pay-per-views? And how many athletes does the UFC have? Is it Aldo’s fault that he doesn’t sell? Is it Aldo’s fault because he doesn’t speak English? Don’t the others speak English? And do they sell? Weren’t they champions? Why don’t they sell? Is it the fighter’s fault, or the promotion’s?”

Pederneiras went on to point out that the UFC has some 500 fighters on the roster at any given time, and no more than two or three stars, so is the UFC promoting them or just waiting for the rare gems who can promote themselves?

It’s an interesting point, and one with a lot to both agree and disagree with. What do you say, Danny? When we talk about a fighter who doesn’t sell, should we really be looking at the people whose job it is to sell him?

Downes: The promoter definitely plays a role in who sells. The classic example is Sage Northcutt. Sure, his spiky blonde hair and aw shucks attitude would have caught some people’s attention regardless, but it’s clear that the UFC made him a priority and gave him an added push. The UFC can use its own platforms like “UFC Tonight” or ufc.com to get a fighter more exposure.

A promoter has a lot of influence, but that only goes so far. Ultimately, the job of getting over falls on the fighter. Think of a promoter as a hype man. A good hype man can do a lot to pump up the crowd and get people into the performance. If the main act can’t connect, though, it doesn’t matter how good the hype man is.

You also can’t hype what’s not there. Look at Jose Aldo’s fight history:

2012: one fight
2013: two fights
2014: two fights
2015: one fight
2016: one fight

If you become known for getting injured and pulling out of fights, it’s hard to gain any momentum. If you’re not visible to fans, you don’t matter. Visibility doesn’t just mean fighting either.

Anthony Pettis had a run of injuries, but he was still able to maintain popularity. Not because he had appearances on state-run television (although that helped), but because his story was out there. We all know Pettis’s background and history. What do we know about Jose Aldo? How do we relate to him? We don’t know anything about him because he hasn’t put it out there. When Pederneiras asks, “Is it Aldo’s fault?” I’m inclined to say yes.

Fowlkes: You make a good point about inactivity. But then, look at a guy like Khabib Nurmagomedov (23-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC). Like Aldo, he’s fought seven times since 2012. He speaks a little more English than Aldo, which is to say he speaks an adorably direct brand of broken English, but he’s also got a similarly expressionless personality best categorized as “humorless badass.”

But people love Nurmy. He has devoted fans clamoring for his title shot. He has a million followers on Instagram. (I’m one of them, mainly for rad stuff like this.) So what’s the difference?

I wonder sometimes if the ineffable quality that makes one fighter popular and another boring isn’t a mystery even to us. Fedor Emelianenko didn’t speak a lick of English, didn’t intentionally show any personality, and even now fans will tune into an online stream filled with Russian acrobats just to see him. You might argue that his reputation as a hard-hitting destroyer of worlds got him over in a way Aldo’s decision wins didn’t, but look at guys like Randy Couture and Chael Sonnen and you’ll see that you don’t need to be exciting to be popular.

You ask what Aldo has given us to latch onto. Honestly? I’d say the most interesting Aldo is the most recent one, the one who loves to lash out at the UFC brass, only to later claim he was misquoted. Angry Aldo is the best Aldo. And the Aldo who demands to be released so he can turn his back on the sport forever might just be the most fascinating Aldo yet. Certainly he’s the most talked-about version. So what can we learn from that?

Downes: Your Nurmagomedov comparison fails on a number of grounds. First off, you said that you follow him on Instagram for his “rad” posts (surprised you didn’t say tubular). When can you say the same about Aldo?

Nurmagomedov actually tries to promote himself, whether it’s with insults, eagles, or tales of him wrestling a bear. When can you say the same for Aldo? You’re right that he’s at his most interesting when he’s mad and tries to fight the establishment. Then he immediately backtracks. Remember when he dared USADA to catch him using a post-weigh-in IV? That was rad (or bodacious, I forget). Soon afterwards, he apologizes and says he’ll follow the rules.

The other problem is that I don’t think Nurmagomedov would move the needle like you think. If you would get out of your MMA Twitter bubble, you might realize that. Unless he shows up to weigh-ins holding a stack of Hillary Clinton’s emails saying “Vladimir Putin gave these to me,” I don’t see Nurmagomedov vs. Eddie Alvarez breaking any buy records.

Perhaps this is another example of how hard it is to stand out in this sport. I think you’re right that a lot of it is inexplicable. We like to think that you can be anything you want as long as you try hard. I don’t believe that. There are plenty of fighters who do all the right things. They train two to three times a day at one of the best camps in the world, and they still can’t make it to the big time. The same applies to getting over.

You can have the promoter push you as hard as anyone, but not make it. Jose Aldo may have himself to blame, or he may be unlucky. Either way, his coach and he are placing the blame in the wrong place.

Fowlkes: I find your criticism of my vocabulary very bogus, dude. Very bogus indeed.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who also writes for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.