UFC 148 might be Chael Sonnen’s end as a superstar, even if he manages to beat Anderson Silva.
Sure, a victory over Silva will be a boon to Sonnen’s career and will make him that much more respected as fighter.
But, the ostentatious, silver-tongued, pro-wrestler-esque Sonnen will be a casualty of UFC 148.
Let’s imagine that he wins. Great, right?
He’ll be the champ and he’ll cut a funny little promo after his victory calling out Bisping or Lombard or whoever.
That’ll be fun to watch. But what about when he’s given dozens and dozens of promos, fight after fight after fight?
The act will eventually wear thin—if it hasn’t already. Stealing from wrestling promos and flinging absurd insults—he fed the bus a carrot—is only entertaining for so long before it starts to get old and fans become desensitized, bored and annoyed.
Once fans start reacting this way, Sonnen will have three options:
1. Scale back the drama and become more “real,” so as not to cheapen the UFC product and to get fans to stop rolling their eyes
2. Just keep doing what he’s doing and hope it can attract new fans—and that current fans don’t lose patience with it.
3. Act even more outlandish to shock those who are desensitized in an attempt to mimic the early success and buzz of his gimmick.
Each one of these options has perils.
If Sonnen goes the first route, he’ll risk becoming a placid, “boring” character who fans couldn’t care less about—he’ll lose his star power.
If he goes the second route, fans will just tune out and start ignoring him.
And, if he goes the third route, his gimmicks and trashtalking will become so preposterous and extravagant that he’ll alienate fans—and perhaps even draw the ire of UFC president Dana White.
And the PR hazards above are assuming that Sonnen wins the fight.
Could you imagine what happens if he loses? That’ll be the second time he talked a tremendous game but failed to wrest the title from Silva’s grasp.
If this happens, it won’t take long for fans to turn on Sonnen and regard him as one of the biggest jokes in UFC history.
Thus, UFC 148 will be Chael Sonnen’s end as a personality. He’ll either win and, ultimately, be forced to abandon his gimmick—which is what made him so famous in the first place.
Or, he’ll lose and be ridiculed for as long as MMA lives.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com