Pettis vs. dos Anjos

This is the official discussion thread for Pettis vs. dos Anjos. Let's see what you've got.

Though I'm picking Pettis there is a very realistic chance that RDA can beat Pettis mainly because he is so well rounded. He is the rightful #1 contender after laying Bendo out but his generic look makes him unappealing challenger for casual fans. Hopefully Brazil is more interested in Dos Anjos than the casual American fan. 

MMA has no casual fans. At least none that I know of. Can you be a "casual fan" of soccer and not know who Luis Suárez is?

I am a really casual fan of soccer, I watch maybe two games per month, but I am aware that PSG just knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League. I also know that Thiago Silva, that magnificent bastard, scored once. Labelling anyone who doesn't know who RDA, Frankie Edgar, Nurmagomedov, John Dodson and Chad Mendes are as a "casual fan of MMA" is like calling someone who watches three american football games per year and doesn't know who Marshawn Lynch is a "casual fan of football". These guys aren't unknown dudes, they are people who have been in the spotlight for quite some time, competing at the highest levels and winning.

* Edited at 03.13.2015, 1:45 AM ET *

There are plenty of casual fans. Happens with any trend.

I think you guys misunderstood Idrownfish.

What I think he meant was that MMA's casual fans are not like casual fans of other sports, because even casual fans of other sports have some semblance of what is relevant and what isn't to their sports. The casual MMA fan doesn't really know what the **** is going on in MMA, so they aren't really fans; instead they're just ordinary people who stumble upon the sport from time to time.

I think this personal (and uneventful) story might clarify what I'm trying to say: As some of you may know, my parents are immigrants from Bangladesh. In the summer of 2008, I actually had the chance to go to Bangladesh for the first time to meet my extended family. At this time, I was a huge sports fan; sports was all I thought about, and loved. It just so happened that an older cousin of mine was a big sports fan as well. His favorite sports were soccer and cricket, and he knew quite a bit about those sports. I asked him about other sports, and eventually we came across the topic of basketball, which he said he loved. But after a few questions, I started to realize that maybe my cousin didn't know quite as much about the sport as I thought (he didn't know what the Spurs were). So then I asked him what his favorite player was, to which he responded "Michael Jordan".

Casual MMA fans are like my older cousin, who can watch and play the sport, and enjoy it. But when you ask them about what they know, they won't be able to tell you much. They can only tell you about the fighters who did things that WEREN'T in MMA, versus actually recognizing the accomplishments for the best fighters in the sport. Think about it for a second, and name me a legitimately famous fighter whose fame came from the sport itself.

But why is that? It's because MMA is a surprisingly small sport, much to the dismay of MMA fans (like us) who reside in our reclusive bubbles.

And because it's a small sport, MMA is extremely reliant on the media in order to build its stars. It's as simple as that.

@CthulhuJones Yes but the difference between MMA and other sports is that the casual fan in MMA doesn't actually know **** about MMA whereas people who knew the same about MMA for other sports wouldn't consider themselves to be a casual fan. What I'm trying to say is that MMA's standards for fandom are significantly lesser than those of other sports.

As for your list, I should have specified that I meant fighters who aren't retired.

But even then, I actually wrote up a huge post detailing why every one of these fighters (who weren't retired) are not famous because of fighting, but then I erased it because I realized that I didn't need to (though I still want to include this just to show that Anthony Pettis isn't famous, especially when he's beating these guys to get on the Wheaties box).

  


Now the question is, why don't I need to? Well, just try it yourself: ask people you know (who don't follow MMA and who aren't close enough to you to let your MMA knowledge rub off on them) about all of those fighters and then see which ones they know and which ones they don't.


My guess? They'll probably know Ronda Rousey because of the movies and her looks and they MIGHT know who Anderson Silva is, but they'll probably recognize him easier as the guy who broke his leg over that white guy's knee. I highly doubt that they'll know much else.


Looking at that list makes it clear to me that Cthulhu doesn't really talk to people who aren't MMA fans. You should try stepping outside of your box more often.

* Edited at 03.13.2015, 12:23 PM ET *

Anik nailed it. I meant that two kinds of people watch MMA: people who watch every wsof event and then come to tapology and discuss why the UFC bantamweight rankings are wrong and people who don't know who Gilbert Melendez is. No one who can be included in one of those groups can be labelled a "casual fan". Shamrock and Slice were on ESPN specifically because MMA has no casual fans and consequently has to rely on a web celebrity who crushed three absolute cans via ape spaz and then faded into obscurity and a 60-years old fighter in order to generate some interest.

* Edited at 03.13.2015, 2:32 PM ET *

There are a gradient of fans of MMA that range from super cuasual to the uber hardcore. I've been at UFC PPV parties where I will the only one watching the event from the prelims up. Others will be standing around and chatting and only pay attention for the main and co-main events. They can tell you who Ronda, Silva, Jones, and Velasquez are as well but not any of the contenders outside of Connor McGregor but then they can't name Aldo. Then there are fans who watch all main card broadcasts and select PPVs can name many top 10 fighters  especially in the heavier divisions and even more so if they've had any kind of marketing which Dos Anjos has not received at all in the US. Then there are fans who watch all events prelims and fightpass prelims for UFC and still others that will watch Bellator, WSOF, Titan etc etc. 

@Bigj383 Way to stay the obvious, no **** there's a gradient of fans in...well in anything that one can be a fan of.

Idrownfish and I were speaking in generalizations because I (I'm not drawing Idrownfish into this) wrongfully assumed that people wouldn't be stupid enough to nitpick like that in the desperate hope of finding something to argue about.

You, however, are stupid enough. Congrats.

There is no difference between MMA fans and any other sports fans both have people who watch that don't understand the sport. There are certainly casual fans in MMA, there are absolutely without a shadow of a doubt fighters who gained popularity and recognition purely through MMA, Connor McGregor to name a recent one. If people are having trouble understanding what you are trying to say it's because you don't have the ability to communicate it properly.  My main point is simply that hardcore fans don't find Dos Anjos to be an interesting opponent despite how dangerous he is, and whatever the **** you want to label the fans who only watch the sport from time to time don't know who the **** he is. So you can take your stupid casual fan and mma celebrity debate and snide remarks and shove them up you ass because I don't care about your opinion.  

The Great Dictator is an awesome movie.

just posting here to show off my Prediction . that is all

I am so happy. 

Didn't get a chance to catch the fight. Was it good?

@Blackwork - Picture Dillashaw vs. Barao without the 5th round finish (and a bit more grappling), just a completely dominant 50-45 on all 3 scorecards for RDA.  Pettis was beyond outclassed, he'd lost his will to fight within two rounds.  RDA did the gameplan we all knew he could win with but would be very hard to pull off for 25 minutes, complete aggression.  And he landed a ton of powerful hooks to the face and body of Pettis.  Just not even a round you could consider for Pettis.

It was fantastic. 

and some people on here were thinking Pettis was the PFP best.  I picked him to win but damn, RDA made him look like crap.

* Edited at 03.15.2015, 12:00 PM ET *