Israel Adesanya‘s popularity soared to new heights after his clinical masterpiece against Brad Tavares.
The process of star-making in MMA is fraught with vagaries, contradictions, and absurd truths. A cursory glance at the buy-rate of pay-per-views headlined by the most skilled fighters in MMA will tell you that being the best isn’t enough. Foreignness can help create an air of mystique around a fighter, but its effect is somewhat diminished by the necessity of appealing to an English-speaking audience.
You can’t be too small, as the lower weight classes have proved historically abysmal draws.