Two former Cage Warrior champions, entering the UFC resulting in viral knockouts and a surge in popularity– where have we heard this before?
As Mixed Martial Arts continues to evolve, the personalities of fighters naturally emerge as a way to stand out from the competition, a difficult feat in a roster totalling nearly 700 athletes.
Despite opening the most recent UFC Apex event, one man managed to steal the spotlight from his other counterparts in his debut, not with his actions but his words also.
Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett predicted a first-round-finish and delivered on his promise as he knocked out Luigi Vendramini with less than a minute remaining in the opening round.
What followed was written in the stars for the Scouser who when prompted by interviewer Michael Bisping – the 26-year-old’s post-fight speech was reminiscent of another big personality who entered the biggest martial arts organisation in similar viral fashion.
When a fighter can talk-the-talk and in Pimblett’s case, walk-the-walk it is only natural to draw comparisons to The Notorious Conor McGregor; both are former Cage Warriors Feather Weight Champions and while The Irishman is seven years his senior there are certainly traits of his legendary aura incorporated into the Liverpudlian’s charisma.
However, despite the contrast, the martial arts world and beyond has changed a lot since 2013.
When a fighter would say a snappy line or a funny anecdote it would be shared across social platforms but now with millions more users and a much greater understanding of what users like to see, it is likely that similar memorable moments will appear on a user’s feed multiple times a week across all media allowing for much more engagement.
Despite this, on a card featuring the likes of Darren Till, Derek Brunson, Khalil Rountree and Tom Aspinall - standing out amongst these recognisable and established stars would take something special and you only get one chance to make a first impression.
Even McGregor struggled to make as big an impact as the Merseyside born fighter as in his debut defeating Marcus Brimage via TKO, the Mac received just three UFC mentions on Twitter in the week following his victory while Pimblett, following his win has featured on his organisation’s Twitter platform seven times in four days removed.
There are variables however; much of the build up to the most recent event centred on the British athletes featured and McGregor's event was in Sweden but the underlying fact is that those behind the scenes who look at the star-power are now well aware of the potential impact Pimblett can have if his rise is measured correctly.
On all platforms, the Liverpool native has amassed over 13m views including not just his sensational finish but his post-fight antics and locker room fly on the wall broadcasts also, highlighting a massive popularity surge but and how the UFC are well-aware of how marketable this young fighter is both in and out of the octagon.
Fast-talkers such as McGregor paved the way for characters such as Pimblett to thrive in today’s market as a fair portion of the current audience found their way into the MMA world thanks to the success of the former UFC Double champ
While it is still early days for the self-proclaimed fifth Beatle – his marketability has already surpassed where the biggest star of martial arts was during his debut and that is a feat very rarely seen before.
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