Raimondi's Legitimate Questions: Can the UFC produce another megastar like Rousey or McGregor?

Kamaru Usman was winning the full way, cruising to a unanimous determination triumph until Leon Edwards caught him with a caput footwear that near him unconscious connected impact. The fifth-round knockout earned Edwards the UFC welterweight title and snapped Usman's unthinkable 15-fight winning streak. The second-longest specified streak successful promotion history.

Nine weeks later, Islam Makhachev bull-rushed done Charles Oliveira, winning with an arm-triangle choke submission successful the archetypal circular to triumph the UFC lightweight title. Oliveira had won 11 straight. And conscionable 3 weeks aft that, Alex Pereira stopped Israel Adesanya with punches successful the 5th round. Like Usman, Adesanya was en way to prevailing successful the combat earlier losing via TKO. Pereira took location the UFC middleweight title, ending Adesanya's 12-fight divisional winning streak.

Usman, Oliveira and Adesanya were among the planet's apical 5 pound-for-pound fighters. And wrong 12 weeks, each were finished by opponents, and nary of them present clasp UFC titles.

All of this is to accidental what is obvious: MMA is simply a brutally hard sport. One wherever it is hard to physique immoderate momentum and casual for everything you've built to beryllium slapped distant successful 1 fell swoop. Lengthy winning streaks are astir intolerable to enactment unneurotic and tin beryllium halted violently. Consistency, which tin beryllium easier to attain successful different diversion ventures, is astir a badge of grant here. It's that hard to achieve.

That brings america to the latest Legitimate Questions mailbag and the astir intriguing question of the week from longtime combat sports writer Jonathan Snowden.

Have an MMA-related question? Please nonstop maine a tweet astatine @marcraimondi, tweet your questions utilizing the hashtag #ESPNMMAmailbag oregon email them to espnmmamailbag@gmail.com.

The process of gathering stars is fascinating due to the fact that determination is nary process astatine all. Such a look does not exist. Sometimes it tin beryllium wholly organic, and different times athletes who look to cheque each the boxes don't ever link with fans successful that way.

One of the things McGregor and Rousey had successful communal was that the UFC recognized what it had close distant and promoted some incredibly hard from the opening of their UFC runs. McGregor's 2nd UFC combat was strategically held successful Boston, a metropolis with an tremendous Irish American population. His 3rd UFC combat was a headliner successful his hometown of Dublin.

In Rousey's case, the UFC gave her the first-ever women's bantamweight rubric without ever having to gain it successful the cage. She headlined her archetypal UFC combat connected pay-per-view -- and it was the archetypal women's combat successful UFC history. Regarding Rousey, thing similar that tin ne'er hap again, fixed the context.

That is not to accidental the McGregor way would beryllium easier to reproduce. Hardly. He and Rousey understood MMA was an amusement mean -- possibly chiefly with everything other coming second. It helped that some were nonrecreational wrestling fans increasing up and had an innate thought of however to marque themselves into what were fundamentally characters -- their personalities turned mode up to 11. They leaned into the promotional facet of MMA, from societal media to doing an absurd magnitude of interviews. There were satellite media tours and gym workouts that the UFC would not usually bash for different fighters.

But McGregor and Rousey besides had to proceed winning fights. The different worldly volition get you lone portion of the mode there. Winning (and winning spectacularly successful galore cases) turns idiosyncratic who gets clicks connected societal media into a superstar. Both of them delivered successful that facet with victories and highlight-reel finishes.

You could spot the UFC going to a akin playbook with Sean O'Malley aboriginal on. But O'Malley's aboriginal years successful the UFC were filled with injuries and headaches with USADA. Then, helium mislaid to Marlon "Chito" Vera successful 2020 aft injuring his leg. His momentum halted astatine that point, though helium has gotten immoderate of it backmost and is present the No. 1 contender for the bantamweight title.

To enactment it successful perspective, McGregor was headlining a UFC Fight Night successful his 3rd UFC combat and warring for a rubric successful his sixth. O'Malley, who is precise fashionable with Generation Z and is astir similar the UFC's mentation of a Paul brother, has had 10 fights successful the UFC and has not done either.

For a agelong time, determination was a cognition that stardom successful MMA came astatine the opening of your career; if it didn't manifest itself early, it would ne'er happen. That is nary longer the case. Both Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal got implicit (to get a word for popularity from pro wrestling) precocious successful their UFC careers, becoming cult figures due to the fact that of their anti-establishment cognition and willingness to get into bloody wars with opponents. For those two, winning fights wasn't astir arsenic important arsenic the authentic personas they portrayed, though Masvidal's knockouts of Darren Till and Ben Askren propelled him.

People connected with Masvidal and Diaz truthful overmuch that the UFC created a mythical Baddest Motherf---er rubric for them to combat for successful 2019 astatine Madison Square Garden. To adhd to the pro-wrestling vibe, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was determination to enactment the loop connected the winner, which was Masvidal.

Diaz and Masvidal mightiness not person achieved box-office and pay-per-view numbers arsenic large arsenic McGregor oregon Rousey, but they besides didn't person the afloat unit of the UFC's promotional instrumentality down them from the jump. The fans conscionable decided they were stars, contempt their records. It's astir similar successful WWE erstwhile the likes of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk got implicit with the fans, contempt WWE force-feeding John Cena and Roman Reigns to the masses.

I'm funny if determination volition ever beryllium stars similar McGregor and Rousey successful the UFC again, but determination volition beryllium fighters who get close. No 1 connected the UFC roster is an evident prime to beryllium the heir apparent, though Khamzat Chimaev and O'Malley person the imaginable to scope a precocious level. Francis Ngannou has a accidental to beryllium idiosyncratic special. He looks similar idiosyncratic retired of a Marvel movie, hits similar a motortruck and carries himself well. Adesanya and Usman are stars successful the Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva benignant of way, based connected delivering consistently implicit a agelong play and acting similar top-tier professionals. Brandon Moreno has immoderate imaginable there, too.

Bo Nickal is an up-and-coming combatant who could beryllium a large woody earlier long, too. And the aforementioned Vera has a accidental to beryllium the adjacent Diaz oregon Masvidal, idiosyncratic the UFC ne'er needfully pushed retired of the gross but who the fans person embraced. You tin spot that transportation betwixt Vera and the fans increasing successful real-time close now.

Building a prima is simply a nebulous process, and determination is nary one-size-fits-all blueprint to it. For a agelong time, Demetrious Johnson was 1 of the champion pound-for-pound fighters successful the world, yet fans would permission earlier his main events. Then you person idiosyncratic similar Jake Paul, who is simply a marginal imaginable successful boxing, but he's 1 of the astir talked astir (and highest-paid) fighters successful that athletics courtesy of his inheritance arsenic a societal media influencer and his quality to promote.

None of it makes implicit sense. But accidental determination is simply a combatant retired determination with an over-the-top caricature of a property that connects with fans, who is consenting to physique their marque done aggregate mediums and tin sound radical retired viciously. In that case, the UFC tin enactment its selling instrumentality down that jock and perchance crook them into the promotion's adjacent megastar. Those types of fighters conscionable don't travel on precise often, and you can't publication them to triumph each clip retired arsenic you could successful WWE.

I can't ideate it being markedly different. Especially astatine this point, the UFC is simply a well-oiled machine, and White's imaginativeness has been executed. If helium were to depart the promotion, which is not apt to hap immoderate clip soon, it would tally beauteous similarly, if not wholly the same. White has each his radical successful place, and his right-hand man, Hunter Campbell, UFC's main concern officer, is progressive successful astir of the large deals and decisions.

This is an absorbing question, fixed what's going connected successful WWE close now. Vince McMahon has retired, and his daughter, Stephanie, and son-in-law Paul "Triple H" Levesque person taken implicit the institution on with president Nick Khan. There person been rather a fewer subtle (and immoderate not-so-subtle) changes successful WWE implicit the past fewer months, astir notably successful originative doctrine -- however immoderate wrestlers and titles are booked oregon positioned, the openness to mentioning wrestlers' histories successful different promotions, etc.

There mightiness beryllium changes similar those if White were to leave, but that aged saying "if it ain't broke, don't hole it" rings existent here. The UFC is connected an unthinkable blistery streak coming disconnected the pandemic epoch with 27 consecutive arena sellouts. The prime of the pay-per-view cards has been precocious and truthful has been the matchmaking, which has produced compelling challengers for longtime champions recently, to the constituent wherever said challenges are knocking disconnected those champs.

Cross promotion, summation successful combatant wage and alterations successful value classes are things a tiny conception of fans would beryllium funny in. But however would immoderate of those things payment the UFC successful practicality? The UFC doesn't request to transverse promote; it is already the promotion with an tremendous marketplace stock of the champion fighters successful the world. And regarding combatant pay, erstwhile has a corp genuinely ever decided unilaterally to wage its labour much money? That's not however it works -- those changes request to beryllium compelled via corporate bargaining, authorities oregon both. These things don't person to bash with White anyway. If helium were to leave, the astir notable quality successful the UFC mightiness beryllium having a president who drops less F-bombs successful interviews.

How does Nate Diaz fare successful @bareknucklefc?#ESPNMMAmailbag

Probably beauteous well, but I can't envision him making that jump. If Diaz wanted to beryllium nether declaration for a promotion, helium would person stayed successful the UFC. When I spent clip with Diaz earlier UFC 279, 1 of the things helium said that stood retired astir was, "the coolest happening is simply a mother---er who tin bash immoderate helium wants." To me, that rules retired Diaz signing with a BKFC oregon a Bellator oregon a PFL. For a one-off? Maybe, but the close terms and the close hostile request to beryllium there, and thing stands retired concerning the second astatine this moment.

After Jake Paul bushed Silva successful a boxing lucifer past month, it seemed similar a Diaz vs. Paul matchup was successful the offing. Diaz's squad and Paul's squad got into a scuffle backstage, and Paul called Diaz out. But now, if societal media is immoderate indication, Paul is toying with the thought of yet doing a Tommy Fury combat successful the United Kingdom next. Where does that permission Diaz? Well, he's not connected anyone's docket but his own, and his Real Fight Inc. promotion is inactive coming together. His squad believes determination volition beryllium respective non-Paul big-money opportunities retired there. There should beryllium much question present aboriginal successful 2023.

If Islam Makhachev beats Alexander Volkanovski astatine UFC 284, is helium the caller P4P No. 1? -- @gaming_mario_official

He'd person to be. At this moment, ESPN has Volkanovski ranked No. 1 connected our pound-for-pound list, and Makhachev is No. 2. The UFC 284 main lawsuit should beryllium historic, arsenic it volition apt beryllium the 2 apical pound-for-pound fighters successful the satellite facing off. That does not often happen, if ever. It'll beryllium a peculiar event, a existent superfight.

Yet, I recognize radical having qualms astir crowning Makhachev arsenic the pound-for-pound king this aboriginal (if helium beats Volkanovski). It took Makhachev's longtime teammate and present manager Khabib Nurmagomedov until virtually the last combat of his MMA vocation to yet beryllium deemed the champion pound-for-pound combatant successful the world. Usually, that favoritism is reserved for idiosyncratic who has held a UFC rubric for an extended play and is connected a historical winning streak. Makhachev has won 11 fights successful a row, but helium conscionable won the lightweight rubric past month.

If helium beats Volkanovski, who has been sublime arsenic featherweight champion, you cannot contradict Makhachev. One different happening to consider: the instrumentality of Jon Jones. If Jones is backmost aboriginal successful 2023 and wins the heavyweight title, however tin helium not instrumentality to being the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter?