As the UFC grows in popularity and is showcased to a whole new variety of fans, the organization will need a heel like Nick Diaz.
He is a fascinating character that nearly everyone can enjoy in one way or another.
Whether he makes your skin crawl, your blood boil and you want to see him fail or you love everything he says and just can’t stop watching him, Diaz is a spectacle.
The mesmerizing thing about Diaz is that he is a good fighter. A great fighter. If he was just another loud mouth fool talking up a storm, no one would care, but he’s more than that. It’s his ability to fight that makes him so utterly enthralling.
The villain, the bad guy, it’s the universal character that is standard for any great story. For many hardcore fight fans, there is no need for a story, the simple athleticism is enough. That isn’t the case, however, for many more casual fans.
Diaz is such a captivating story because there’s something underneath him that we’re not quite seeing, and we’re constantly looking for a peek behind the veil.
People will continually tune in to see what this guy has to say next, just so that maybe they can understand why he’s so self destructive, why he is so angry and confused.
Of course, there are going to be those fans that also tune in to watch him lose, to watch him fall.
A personality like Diaz isn’t supposed to be a success, at least that’s what we’re taught. When someone like Georges St-Pierre defeats him, those fans will feel like everything is right in the world.
That is of course, if St-Pierre can defeat him.
Diaz is also great because, while his behavior is unpredictable, he is at least consistent in that capacity. It’s his wild card antics that give him a part of his negative and positive appeal.
It seems to be that the only thing we can count on Diaz for are some great quotes, insane behavior and amazing fights, which make him a marketers dream.
Diaz has the ability to polarize fans like few fighters before him. It gives people someone to cheer for or root against. It gives fans the ability to get passionate about fights. It gets people bought in.
Maybe Diaz is really everything he’s made himself up to be, or maybe he’s just misunderstood. Either way, fans can’t get enough of him right now, and that’s great for the UFC.
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