As many MMA fans watched Vitor Belfort battle Dan Henderson once again Saturday night, his dealings with the press leading up to UFC Fight Night 77 have been interesting to say the least. Belfort’s attempt to manage the media is just one of three interesting shots at controlling media perceptions.
Deadspin and Bloody Elbow released reports on Belfort that reflect abnormally high levels of testosterone in his system leading up to his title shot against Jon Jones in September 2013. Essentially, one might conclude from the articles that the UFC knew that Belfort was on TRT, yet it was not reported. Moreover, Jones was fighting a challenger that was on TRT although no one let the champion know.
Belfort was scheduled to do PR for his fight on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani last week but that interview was nixed due to the fact that Helwani wanted to ask about the reports.
Mr. @vitorbelfort will not be on the show today after all. His rep asked me about an 1 ago to not ask certain qs. I said I couldn’t do that…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 26, 2015
… so they pulled him from the show. Disappointing, considering he was booked on Wednesday and they give this ultimatum now. Ah well. … — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 26, 2015
Since The MMA Hour incident, Belfort has given interviews with the press but skirted the questions related to his TRT usage and the write-ups about it leading up to UFC 152.
Notably, Belfort has submitted to USADA testing twice under the new UFC-USADA drug protocol.
Still, Belfort’s legacy is likely tainted with his prior PED use and the Deadspin/BE revelations which implicate him as using TRT. Notwithstanding these issues, which may be out of his hands, Belfort’s PR efforts leading up to this fight reflect poor media relations.
Helwani was right to cancel the interview or willing to have the interview cancelled if he was not able to talk about the recent newsworthy items. It’s not the job of Helwani to amend his questioning here, but for Belfort’s media team to ready itself for the questions. Certainly, avoiding the interview altogether was an option, but promoting the fight (a part of his job as a contracted fighter for the UFC) was the impetus for the appearance.
Speaking of PR issues, Ronda Rousey hung up on a UFC media call when a question was posed about her relationship with Travis Browne. The controversial UFC heavyweight announced that he was with Rousey in an interview. Browne is being accused of his estranged wife of domestic violence. The accusation caused Browne to be suspended by the UFC but after an investigation into the matter, Browne was reinstated.
When asked about the relationship, Rousey hung up the line in the first several minutes of the conference call. She never returned to the call. It was clear the question, was unacceptable to her. But was it an unacceptable question? There has been no news as to the reasons for her dropping the line and not fulfilling her obligation to the UFC and the media.
The question, while being somewhat off topic from UFC 193, the event that was the primary reason for the conference call was within the realm of possibility. Admittedly, it did seem like a “gotcha” moment but it was a newsworthy question to bring up. Browne answered the question in a prior interview. Certainly, he could have deferred the question citing his personal life but decided to respond.
For Rousey, it’s clear that she was caught off-guard. Moreover, it seems like her team needs to come up with a strategy to decide on how to address the matter. Rousey and Browne are UFC fighters and are in the public eye. At some point, if their relationship continues, mainstream outlets (i.e., TMZ) will hone in on the relationship.
Rousey is the biggest draw in the UFC. Her brand is ascending. With appearances on Good Morning America and Ellen, she is becoming more visible and a role model to young women. Would her brand suffer if the public knew who she was dating?
Then, there’s the issue of Conor McGregor. The Irish fighter had to respond to critics after he was spotted wearing a poppy. A fan blasted the UFC interim featherweight champion for wearing the symbol of remembrance of British soldiers of World War I. The “poppy” is controversial in Northern Ireland and many Irish refuse to wear one due to the conflicts between the countries. McGregor maintained wearing the poppy was done in remembrance of all soldiers but was still criticized for perceived insensitivities.
He wrote in a Facebook post:
I know where my allegiance lies and what I do for my country. I don’t need a stupid little flower with a 100 different meanings to tell me if I do or do not represent my country.
Check the facts of its original meaning. ALL soldiers. ALL wars.I have the blood of many nations on my gloves. Fought and beat on the world stage. You have a pint in your hand and a Celtic jersey on in your local. F*** you and the Queen.
Payout Perspective:
These three recent episodes reflect a need for UFC contracted fighters to become more media aware. In the case of Belfort and Rousey, it’s a matter of preparing a strategy to responding to tough questions. In the matter of McGregor, it’s a matter of realizing the sensitivities of your audience. The most important thing in all of these media-related matters is execution. In all three, the execution was poor and it appears that each did not have a media strategy, or had a poor one in the case of Belfort. UFC Fighters are not the only sports figures dealing with media mishaps. But if the UFC wants to change perceptions and garner more fans, it needs to work with the media and become more media savvy.
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