If you are popular, you are regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general. Popularity forms a vital component of success in life. The popular person gets the girl, gets the job, and gets your vote.
Even in sports, popularity matters. Winning and losing will always be the foundation for achievement but, who we like, and dislike, is what propels our athletes into the stratosphere of success.
The sport of mixed martial arts is no exception. A popular fighter like Randy Couture sells PPV cards, which translates into big fights. Many fans feel that Couture has had a “cherry picked’ career, being given favorable fights, even title fights, whenever he wants because of his stardom.
The antithesis of guys like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are guys like Lyoto Machida and Yushin Okami. Machida & Okami have combined 13-1 record inside the octagon, yet both fighters remain at least one fight removed from a title shot, with their popularity leaving a lot to be desired.
Machida recently turned the corner in his popularity contest by knocking out Thiago Silva in the first round at UFC 94. Finishing your fights is a great way to expedite your passport to popularity in MMA.
Prior to this fight, Machida had been accused of being “boring” while his small legion of fans used the word “elusive” to describe his style. Apparently Machida got the memo that as long as his fight style remained elusive, so too would a title shot.
Impressive wins are not the only thing that makes a fighter popular amongst fans. A very basic factor, which all people need in their popular figures, is relatability. We need to be able to relate to the fighters that we root for, plain and simple.
American fans are able to connect with fighters like Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson more so because; well they are American for starters. It will always be harder for American fans to relate to fighters from foreign countries for the obvious reasons.
Fighters like Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva are able to transcend this, to some extent, because of their exciting fight style and obvious dominance over his opponents. But when a fighter from a foreign country is labeled as boring, it is a one-two punch that will TKO any fighter’s marketability.
That brings us back to Yushin Okami.
Okami is a Japanese mixed-martial arts fighter. He is currently ranked by some pundits as the second best middleweight in the world. He has compiled a 23-4 overall MMA record and has gone 7-1 since entering the octagon.
Okami even holds a win over Anderson Silva. But looks can be deceiving, even in MMA.
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