MMA Fighters and Promotional Obligations

This past week, UFC 140 underwent a bit of match-making musical chairs as the card's main-event was altered to include Carlos Condit rather than Nick Diaz after Diaz failed to follow through with a couple of promotional obligations he committed to with the UFC upper brass.

Wednesday, September 7, Dana White made the official announcement with Diaz absent from the Las Vegas press-conference, in place to promote UFC 140. Hours later, Diaz released a video via YouTube explaining himself, somewhat, but one thing was clear and echoed in earlier comments stemming from the Stockton, CA native's coach and confidant, Cesar Gracie; Diaz does suffer from social anxiety, and the case presents itself each and every time the fighter is forced to talk in front of a crowd or camera with interviews conducted by others around him.

This type of athlete is sheltered from that same media across other main-stream sports and organizations, such as the NFL or MLB, but fighters have so often been hungry to promote themselves and their brand in front of a grand audience that has only been discovered in recent years throughout the MMA environment. Diaz, on the other hand, is not one of those athletes - to his detriment or not as a personable fighter will often reap the benefits of larger/more sponsorship deals thrusting them further into the public eye - and the dilemma begs the question; should all fighters be subject to social and event promotion when it is not in their nature, or comfort zone, to do so?

I won't pretend that I hold the answer to this question, but upon reflection (as I too was terribly disappointed in Diaz earlier this week) I do feel that Zuffa should have an alternative process in place to promote their events without the presence of all athletes competing. Whether that be through teleconferencing or other means, social skills should not hinder a fighter's advancement in a sport where greatness is achieved through individual accomplishment.

I'll leave the debating up to you, but the topic deserves conversation.


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