Does UFC Need a Franchise Face like Paddy the Baddy?
For as long as we can remember, especially in American sports, there has always been a technical side and a spectacular side to every media event. And this is not a modern invention: those with several springs to their credit remember well teams that served to make a spectacle, even when the need for a show was not so widespread on our devices.
A very famous case was the Harlem Globetrotters: a basketball team made up of gifted basketball virtuosos who would have had no chance against a regular NBA team. And this is also about a recently grown phenomenon that has attracted public favour: MMA. Just as it completely concerned wrestling, another sport where spectacle was paramount.
The spectacle is now on our screens
There is no point denying that today we do not need to look for the spectacle: it comes looking for us through countless messages and appearances on email and social media. Because the spectacle machine requires attention and views. It doesn’t matter whether the games we see are real or tame – what matters is that people follow, applaud and enjoy them.
Let’s think about an online casino like ggpoker.com. If you log on to the portal and play one of the offered poker games, you definitely have a chance of winning, with percentages usually highlighted on the site (verified by external bodies and published to ensure the quality and transparency of the portal). What makes the difference is your style of playing and your skill set, that comes from practice – and of course some luck to draw a good hand.
On the other hand, in many contact sports matches, especially the more visual ones such as wrestling, the result is already written: the professionals animating the game follow an actual script, so the staff knows who is going to win and who’s not, 99% of the time. But even in over-the-top sports such as boxing, it is normal for managers to manipulate match schedules to favour their protégés – and everyone knows it, even if they only say it half-heartedly.
Who is Paddy the Baddy?
Paddy Pimblett – from Liverpool – is a typical product of this ‘hybrid’ system where you don’t just need technique and fundamentals; you need charisma. Something which the blond who has shown his qualities in Cage Warriors has in superabundance, contrary to his fighting skills, which are valid but absolutely middle-of-the-road.
Periodically the spectacular side of MMA needs a hero – or an anti-hero – who can resonate with the crowds. Someone on whom to build a myth. And the long and glorious era of Conor McGregor is coming to an end – so the whole business must find a worthy replacement to fill the consciousness – and the screens – of the public. But could this someone be Paddy the Baddy? In our opinion, no.
Paddy’s pros and cons
What are his pluses? He’s good with his hands and grappling, but his defence is all over the place – and his irreverent personality isn’t enough to break through his opponents’ fundamentals. Fun to watch and to watch him fight, but in our opinion, anyone in the current Top 15 would be a favourite in a battle against our friend Paddy in 2022. A disciplined fighter, less charismatic but more down-to-earth, would probably undercut him.
Agreed: Paddy can still improve. That’s fair enough, but you have to remember that he’s been fighting for ten years now – and if he hasn’t learned yet, he’s unlikely to do so now. Still, we admit it’s hard not to love him: someone who loves fries and burgers and eats them wherever he goes and gets kicked off a social site like Instagram for a good cause deserves all our love and support – as well as the UFC‘s, which is betting on him as a figurehead big time. And let’s hope Paddy learns a few tricks to improve his arsenal in the process!
