Joe Rogan: Why Is The UFC Hyping Ronda Rousey But Not Amanda Nunes?

During the peak of her championship career, Ronda Rousey was the biggest thing to happen to MMA. Taking out her opponents in dominant fashion, ‘Rowdy’ began setting records with every win. All the trash talk and media antics was a promoter’s dream, and the UFC plugged Rousey’s aura at every opportunity. After her UFC 190 KO against Bethe Correia, UFC commentator Joe Rogan was choked up. Holding back the tears, Rogan proclaimed Rousey was a ‘once in a lifetime fighter.’

This only added to the invincible image that ‘Rowdy’ was building up. Approaching three years as UFC champion, with six title fight wins, Rousey was paired in an ill-fated showdown with Holly Holm. In her last four fights, the former Olympian had taken just two minutes to dispatch of her opponents. Everyone was calling this a squash match, and the odds makers made ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ a massive underdog.

Fallen

The dominant beating came from a different direction at UFC 193, as Holm was the one handing out the punishment. Smashing Rousey, stuffing her takedown attempts and scoring a second round KO, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ flipped the script. No longer was Rousey the undefeated wrecking machine, and she would shy away from the limelight in the coming months. As the former champ sat by the sidelines, the belt was passed from Holm to Miesha Tate and then to Amanda Nunes.

The head kick heard around the world seemed a lifetime ago when Rousey’s return was announced. UFC 207 would play host to Amanda Nunes’ clash with Rousey, but all the focus seems to remain on ‘Rowdy.’ The posters proclaim ‘She’s Back!’ and the promo videos feature heavily in the ex-champs favour. One man who arguably assisted in building Rousey’s untouchable image, color commentator Joe Rogan, is confused by the UFC’s hype for this fight:

I find it extremely bizarre that all these @UFC 207 promos only focus on Ronda and very little about the champion @Amanda_Leoa

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) December 18, 2016

if that was the case wouldn't they focus on the epic match up and build up Amanda as well?

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) December 18, 2016

$?

Sadly, but no doubt true, marketing Ronda Rousey is likely far simpler and worth a lot more dollars than pushing the current champion. Long gone is the battle between money and rankings, especially in terms of promotional content, as cash has taken over as the new king. Make no bones about it, Rogan knows this, as does everybody else. The real question is how long will this go on for before it becomes counter-productive?