Amanda Nunes: The UFC wants cute little blondes, not me
Amanda Nunes: “They want blondies, cute little girls who fight and take pictures. Let’s face it, I have to face the girls who sell best.”
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes spoke recently with Duane Finley for FloCombat, and argued that the league is not making a sufficient effort to promote her.
“There’s a point where, sometimes, I’d rather wait a bit and get a fight that sells,” said Nunes. “It’s all about pay-per-view, everything revolves around that and I don’t really get a part of that. I don’t really fit the profile of a UFC champion, but they have to do [business] with me, even though they’re never going to promote me to a level like they did Ronda Rousey or Holly Holm. They want blondies, cute little girls who fight and take pictures. Let’s face it, I have to face the girls who sell best.”
“They’re not idiots, they know what they do. It’s all about marketing. That’s why it’s the UFC, that’s why they’re doing it. They want to get someone to beat me, for me to get out badly. I told them about it, I know that’s what they want, someone that they can really promote and make money with.
Nunes isn’t changing.
“Why? I’m not going to be who I am [if I try to cater to the market],” she said. “It doesn’t make sense for me to change. You have to be who you are.”
“Obviously, I want to make money. Having the belt is a dream come true, but ultimately, you’ve got to have something in your bank account to be able to do your thing. It’s a good thing, but without the necessary publicity and marketing, things like sponsorships are difficult to get.
“The UFC only shows the good moments of some people and only the bad ones of others, which is the case with me, and every fight I have, it’s like this.
The UFC has a massive marketing capability, and is at odds with multiple champions included Nunes over what is perceived as inadequate promotion. It’s a question for every business – do you only go fishing where you know there’s fish? Star power is one of the most vital, least possible to define qualities in entertainment. Some figures simply have it although no one can say exactly what “it” is.
The UFC didn’t make people interested in Ronda Rousey. People were interested in ‘Rowdy’, and the UFC poured gasoline on it, until she was #3 in 2015 for Google’s top trending people. #4 was Donald Trump. But the UFC could turn their entire marketing machine on Dennis Siver for a year, and the Russian-German wouldn’t be top trending in Omsk.
And, of course, there is a great, grey area, where fighters appear to have star potential that could be built upon, even if they’re not going to be the next Conor McGregor. UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes is on a six-fight win streak, with two successful title defenses, including a near decapitation of Rousey. Leading into that fight, the UFC focused almost entirely on the blonde fighter, and when Rousey lost, few outside the hardcore fanbase knew who Nunes was. That doesn’t suit anyone.