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Is the “Cain Velasquez as first Mexican Heavyweight champion” campaign a turn off for white UFC fans?

By Zach Arnold | October 18, 2010

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“The skills that I have and the experience that I have in the sport on my stand-up, it’s possible for me to knock out Brock.

“October 23rd in Anaheim, I’m going to beat Brock Lesnar. He has something that I want. This is the whole reason why I got into the sport is to become champion. I’m going to beat him.

“For the Latin people here in the US, the Mexicans in Mexico need a champion. For us, we have a rich tradition in boxing and to not have a Mexican champion is unheard of. We need it. I’m glad I’m able to be in this position that I can, you know, give that to them and I want to. I want to give this belt to them. The people need a champion. This is the whole reason why I got into this sport is to be the champion. I’m going to beat him.”

It’s been interesting to see how Zuffa is marketing the upcoming match between Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar. They’ve marketed this fight as Cain’s chance to become “the first Mexican Heavyweight champion” despite the fact that he was born in Salinas, California. He’s gone on record to push for the repeal of SB1070 (the Arizona immigration enforcement bill that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into state law.) Last week, when Brock Lesnar was asked about this issue during a UFC conference call, he was not enthusiastic about being part of this specific discussion.

One of the major claims from critics of MMA about UFC is that the majority of their fan base is supposedly white. (I don’t necessarily agree with that assumption, but let’s assume it’s true for this argument.) Does all the “Brown Pride” talk and “first Mexican heavyweight champion” marketing turn off white UFC fans or is it a matter where white fans largely don’t care one way or the other about this? I’ve argued before that the energy going into Brock Lesnar fights is largely anti-Brock or pro-Brock and that the opponent he faces is starting to become secondary in regards to drawing power.

Let’s say that Velasquez is able to beat Lesnar on Saturday night — will the “first Mexican Heavyweight champion” and “Brown Pride” talk work to boost Velasquez’s popularity or will it turn off white fans?

In this FightHubTV video, check out the atmosphere for a promotional event Velasquez did in LA last weekend. During the video, a couple of fans in the crowd are asked why Cain will win and the responses range from “because we’re [expletive] Mexican” to “Mexican pride.”

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 37 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

37 Responses to “Is the “Cain Velasquez as first Mexican Heavyweight champion” campaign a turn off for white UFC fans?”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    What the UFC is doing feels very much like a politician pandering for votes with a certain demographic.

    Personally, I can’t stand it. Who cares if this fake Mexican cares so much about his past heritage. I can turn on MTV every Thursday night and see a bunch of guidos who are proud of their heritage too. Hardly makes any of them special.

    Boxing does this race war garbage a lot as well. It is stupid in both MMA and boxing.

  2. Steve4192 says:

    1. There is no such thing as a homogeneous ‘white’ fanbase. Different socioeconomic and educational backgrounds result in different attitudes, regardless of the amount of pigmentation in a person’s epidermis.

    2. I have no doubt that the ‘Mexican’ angle is a turn off to a very small subgroup of bigoted fans.

    3. Even those fans who are turned off will still be tuning in, if for no other reason than to see the ‘Mexican’ take an ass beating.

    • Zach Arnold says:

      I want to watch a fighter because of his talents and not because of nationality or ethnicity. (That puts me in the minority? The irony, of course, is I’ve spent most of my writing career covering Japan.) When it comes to marketing nationality and ethnicity, unfortunately a lot of times the two get mixed up in the wrong manner.

      I don’t think it’s a fair or accurate description to say that white fans who get turned off by the “first Mexican heavyweight champion” angle are somehow bigoted.

      Do I understand why Zuffa is trying to market Velasquez in this manner? I understand it. I don’t like it. I understand it, but I do think there’s also a risk that fans will get turned off by it if he ends up beating Lesnar and has a reign as champion.

      • Chuck O. says:

        I’m a non-white Hispanic and I’ve been turned off at the UFC’s promoting of this event. Race and nationality-based promotions are an easy way to sell fights, but it always cheapens the skills and records of the fighters involved. Brock and Cain are great fighters who do not deserve to be seen as a representation of “Us versus Them”.

        • edub says:

          “Race and nationality-based promotions are an easy way to sell fights, but it always cheapens the skills and records of the fighters involved. Brock and Cain are great fighters who do not deserve to be seen as a representation of โ€œUs versus Themโ€.”

          That’s a great point.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I don’t think it’s bigoted fans who are turned off by this. It’s fans who want to see a good fight, not make it into a race discussion.

      The racist people I have talked to, typically all of this race talk before a fight gets them more excited to see the fight. “I want to see that black/mexican get his behind beat!”

      • Jason Harris says:

        I personally just hate the “race war” angle. We get it, they’re different races. Why is that relevant? “A WHITE GUY FIGHTS A MEXICAN, SATURDAY ON PPV!”

        It just sounds so fucking trashy.

  3. I don’t see a scenario where any of the current heavyweight contenders beats Lesnar and some fans aren’t “turned off” to some degree. In this case, hey, they’re trying to appeal to some base nationalism in the hopes it works. I doubt it will given their past history on this (WEC/UFC in Mexico! Diego Sanchez is a real Mexican because he has a mariachi band!), but its not exactly the thing that’s at the forefront of my mind with Lesnar/Velasquez.

    What sorta bothers me is that we haven’t heard anything substantial from either camp. Is everyone just relying on UFC Primetime or whatever the 24/7 ripoff is to tell us how these guys are doing for prep?

    • Zach Arnold says:

      I was underwhelmed by those All-Access type shows so far and have found myself in the minority. The technical aspect of finding out what the game plans are is incredibly lacking. In the Fighthub video linked in the post, Cain’s asked specifically about Brock’s weaknesses and game plans and all he said is basically (paraphrasing) ‘if it’s standing we have a game plan and if it’s on the ground we have a game plan.’

      • fd says:

        You are never going to see a camp discussing their gameplans in detail on television before a fight, nor should you. Do football coaches go on ESPN before games and talk in detail about what kind of running offense they plan on using? If my coach gave specific details about what weaknesses of my opponent’s I planned to exploit and what my gameplan was going to be on a nationally televised program before the biggest fight of my life I’d fire him for criminal incompetence.

      • They’re not going to do that. What we could have are analysts who could break down both men’s strengths and prior gameplans to analyze how the fight will go. But more than that, how are these guys doing in camp? I find it really odd that its Jim Ross telling the world that Brock Lesnar’s walk around weight is 265 right now and that he’s not planning on cutting.

        • fd says:

          Brock said the same thing himself before the Shane fight so it’s not like that’s new information.

        • IceMuncher says:

          The UFC is going to ask the questions (“Who will win the striking game?”) but it’s in their best interest to leave it an open question to make the fight appear more unpredictable to pique interest. The closest they’ll come is the Rogan pre-fight style analysis, where each guy is world class in one area and has very solid everything else.

          Also, you won’t hear about how they’re doing in camp, for all the same reasons that you won’t hear them talk about the gameplan. If the opponent knows the good and bad about your camp, you’re giving him an advantage by letting them know what to expect. The only way around this is to give the boring, almost trivial answers, but we already get those so that’s obviously not what you’re looking for.

        • People write about how fighters camps are doing. It involves actual reporting. Like I said before – is everyone just planning on reviewing the UFC hype shows instead of discussing the fight at any length or doing reporting?

    • smoogy says:

      Weird. I read your comment, then 10 minutes later Meltzer files one of the only substantial training camp reports I’ve read:

      http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-cain101910

      • His sparring partners in striking are John Devine, Mike Kyle, and HERSCHEL WALKER???? You have to be kidding me. Kyle I can understand, but HERSCHEL WALKER?

        Seriously wondering about his chances after reading that. Really.

        • The Gaijin says:

          Did you know that one of the only people that can hold him down is Bobby Lashley…THE Bobby Lashley(?!?)…well f**k me running!

  4. Renae says:

    Well, i’m white – and i was rooting for Cain —- until i read this….now i hope lesnar kicks his a$$!

  5. david m says:

    Man, that was really cool. There were thousands of people there to greet Cain; craziness. That was somewhat De La Hoya-esque (obviously not as big as Oscar’s crowds, but still quite impressive).

  6. Matthew says:

    I have no problem with them pushing Cain as being possibly the first Mexican HW champion. The problem that I have is that is all they talk about. I get sick of hearing his coaches talk about his Mexican heart and his Mexican will. There is a lot more to Cain that I think they are cheapening because of this. If all it took was the heart and will of a Mexican to be the HW Champion we would have one already.

    I just wish they would play on the skills he brings to the table and not talk so much about he will win because he is Mexican.

    • Oh Yeah says:

      I didn’t see ep2, for fear that they retold the same Brock story again.

      My worry about Cain is that in a loss, he could easily come off as a Mexican fighter who wandered his way into a title fight, and was there more to inspire than actually challenge Lesnar.

      Meanwhile, one of the last things most MMA fans think of when they think of Cain is his heritage.

  7. szappan says:

    Does this marketing strategy necessarily have to be considered negative?

    If UFC’s core fan base is Caucasian, then could this merely be a sign that they are trying broaden that base? Certainly having a Hispanic champion would help that cause.

  8. SixT-4 says:

    As a white guy, Zuffa promoting Cain as their first Mexican Heavyweight Champ would not put me off.

    That’s because I don’t identify as being “white”. Sure I am white, but so are a hell of a lot of other people. It’s so widespread and covers such a diverse group of people that I’d never identify with someone just because they were white.

    The country I’m from is also 99%+ white. Everybody I ever see is white so my own race is not something I ever think about.

    This promotional angle is actually interesting to me. I wanna see a Mexican champ.

  9. Joey says:

    The one thing people seem to overlook is that it was Cain who decided to put that Brown Pride tattoo across his chest, not the UFC. It’s as distinctive a tattoo I can think of, and is a slogan that resonates enormously with the Latino population. Furthermore, Cain’s style is largely based on his being a tough dude– he’s not a jiu-jitsu guy, finesse striker, or lay n’ pray wrestler. He attacks and roughs up his opponents, has an iron chin and a limitless gas tank. So, I mean, this first Mexican champ thing is not that far-fetched, and, frankly, I can’t think of another way to promote him.

  10. Dissenter says:

    I’m already turned off enough by the race-war aspect of this event’s promotion that I’ve decided not to buy it. It’s such bullshit.

    Cain and Brock are 2 top-tier fighters competing to see which of them will be the champ at the end of the night. Why isn’t that enough? No, it has to be about race instead.

    It’s sickening and UFC is not getting my dollars this time. I’m sure they don’t care.

  11. Chromium says:

    Maybe it’s just me, but I’m a white dude and I’m not offended or turned off by it. That being said, I have to reverse my earlier stance in that I think they are over-promoting it. Also, there already was a Mexican-American UFC Heavyweight Champion though and his name was Ricco Rodriguez.

    Anyway, I do think they are starting to shoot themselves in the foot by making it so much about race in the advertising. I think it’s fine with them focusing somewhat on his heritage in the UFC Primetime shows but I really wish they’d omitted that in the second round of commercials. They’re starting to make it seem like that’s the main thing that makes Cain stick out as a challenger.

    They could have focused on him as the hungriest and strongest young lion, an All-American wrestler who not only could potentially neutralize Brock’s wrestling, but a much better technical striker with cardio to burn (the one thing Carwin lacked). Can this unstoppable lion with no weaknesses, the fastest and most well-rounded heavyweight to challenge for the title yet, be the man to dethrone the titanic Brock Lesnar? Would’ve been a perfectly fine way to advertise it.

    (I still see Brock winning by 2nd round TKO though).

    • david m says:

      I’m pretty sure Ricco was Puerto Rican; I recall Tito Trinidad coming out with him in his fight against Sylvia.

      • Chuck says:

        Ricco is both Puerto Rican and Mexican (as says Wikipedia). So does UFC have to mention that Cain can be the first 100% Mexican heavyweight champ?

  12. Tradition Rules says:

    Ehh,….I’m not turned off.

    I’m caucasian (Italian American) but am not offended by this,…why should I be?

    Is it any different if he would have been Italian American and the UFC was putting him over the same way and the fight was going to be held in New York/Chicago/Philly or elsewhere where there is a large Italian American population?

    Is it any different when the UFC puts over English fighters when they hold a card in the U.K. ?

    How about GSP in Canada?

    Granted, those are situations that are in locations where there is a connection to the population,….but the UFC is trying to accomplish the same thing in a slightly different manor.

    As was said, the UFC is trying to tap into a new demographic that are HUGE fight(boxing) fans. If they can get even 10% of the Mexican American boxing fans to start watching UFC, they will make quite a profit.

    And I’m still pulling for Velasquez,…not because he is latino, but because I enjoy watching him fight.

    Just like Dana White has said in past interviews:

    “This is the only sport in the world where fans in one country may cheer for the guy from the other country!”….or even a different ethnicity ๐Ÿ™‚ .

  13. dommy says:

    so if he wins can we petition to have brock finally get a nickname?

    BROCK “THE HUMAN BORDER FENCE” LESSSSSSSSSSNNNNNNNEEEER

  14. […] STEVE COFIELD: “Let me get your reaction to this statement. I was reading one blog and they were asking, does all the Brown Pride talk and first Mexican heavywe…” […]

  15. bloodsalt says:

    I’ll chime in as a white fan: If ANYthing could “turn me off” about Brock v. Cain, it would be the intentional & blatant division along racial lines. I’ve had about 12 gutsful too many of that in recent years & hate seeing it seep into the UFC’s promotion of fights. However, outside of having Rosie O’ Fat singing the national anthem prior to the 1st prelim, NOTHING could turn me off about seeing this fight (not even sure the Twinkie Bandit herself could, tbh).

  16. robthom says:

    “… a turn off for white UFC fans?”

    Hmmm, I might go so far as to say hopefully.

    This MMA crowd needs thinning IMO.

    I figure shedding kneejerk racists would be a perfectly good place to start.

    (black ones and white ones.)

  17. avgjoe says:

    Its not so much that ufc’s fan base is white as it is American, and I find it offensive that a man born in the U.S. wraps his hand with a forein flag should his other hand have an American flag?Ponder this, If Brock had a WHITE PRIDE tatoo on his chest and held a rally with all white people and addressed them as my race or my people, would the ufc promote that? would he be a racist? Sick of the double standards.

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