In the professional wrestling world, the stars normally fall into one of two categories: the face or the heel. It’s very simple to tell who is who, as the fans cheer for the faces and soundly boo the heels. Now what does this have to do with the world of mixed martial arts? While thinking about the professional wrestling fan that I once was, I am starting to believe that this aspect of wrestling has begun to creep its way into the MMA community.
Now before you call me an idiot and click on the red “X” in the top right corner, please bear with me. In recent months I’ve come to realize that a few of the biggest names in MMA are finding themselves placed into one of these two groups. I’ll give you a few examples:
Rashad Evans – I’ve heard many MMA fans display a blatant disgust for the former light heavyweight champion. The best thing is that this was well before the situation that has come to head with Jon Jones. Maybe all this began when he knocked out Chuck Liddell, who is one of the biggest “faces” that the UFC has created. Either way, it’s very easy to find a fan who considers Evans a whiner or a cocky fighter. Regardless of the fact that people who know him personally say he is a genuinely pleasant individual, he still faces a consistent rain of boos whenever he is shown on camera or ready to compete in the Octagon.
Georges St. Pierre – St. Pierre is slowly becoming the sports icon that the UFC hopes he can be. ESPN commercials, mainstream marketing deals, and features in magazines such as Men’s Health have placed “Rush” in an area that no other fighter has reached. An entire country loves him, and he has the abilities to be the number one fighter throughout the world. While some fans have begun to shun him due to his penchant for winning in “unexciting” fashion, he still has the support of many MMA fans worldwide.
Dominick Cruz – The UFC bantamweight champion is coming off of a major victory over his main rival Urijah Faber at UFC 132. They both put on a show for 25 minutes of constant movement and action. With that being said, I’ve heard people complain that he is “cocky” and would love to see him get knocked out. I believe that many fans are quick to feel this way about the current champion because they have not had the opportunity to watch him perform when he was a part of the WEC. While his style does not lend itself to spectacular finishes, there’s no doubt that he will provide action in the cage. We will see if this “heel” role will take its toll on the mindset of the current champion.
BJ Penn – The “Prodigy” seems to be a fighter that will always have more fans than he wants. Just like Manny Pacquiao represents so much to the people of the Philippines; Penn is just as important to the people of Hawaii. He is forever cheered by fans because they have come to expect Penn to look to finish a fight whenever he is inside the cage. He’s destined to become a UFC Hall of Famer and fans both new and old to the sport of MMA are very appreciative of his time in the sport.
The list of heels and faces in mixed martial arts goes on and on. Names such of Josh Koscheck, Chael Sonnen, Brock Lesnar and Josh Barnett are other individuals who could easily be classified in one of these areas. While MMA should want nothing to do with the idea of professional wrestling, the marketing push behind both “heels” and “faces” could be a large financial benefit.
i like this article. Penn, to me, is so interesting. in the sense of this article, he is a heel, but yet people love him. he talks so much trash for a lot of his fights, and people love it! it's like rampage. the guy has somehow just become such a heel that people have allowed him to transcend that heel/face borderline. i have no idea how some of these guys do it – but in MMA i'm assuming it's the comedy with which they do their trash-talk and stupid-stuntery, and the fact that they finish fights.
this was a good read, and makes sense. thanks!
While an interesting concept it is flawed in a couple of ways. 1. The UFC does not stage these fighters like Wrestling. 2. These fighters are not acting they are just being themselves. 3. With the amount of fan accessibility that the UFC promotes you get to know fighters better including both good and bad habits. 4. These fighters go out every time and give their all in the cage and to put them in to a "category" is unfair just like all reporters look for dirt on fighters so that they can get a good story or that all reports are fighter wanna bees that don't have the skills to compete.
I agree with the concept, but not the examples at all. There's a big difference between people being liked or disliked in mass, and acting as the face or heel. I would suggest that Evans and Cruz act relatively honorable, and the majority of fans still don't like them. I would suggest that it has more to do with who they seem to have opposed, specifically Rampage and Faber, respectively. Ironically Jackson would seem to be actively trying to portray himself as the heel at times, and nonetheless fans seem to love him.
You could make the case that Penn tries to play the face, but it all depends on the context. He criticizes Sherk for being a steroid user. And he criticizes GSP for the same thing as well. Is he a face, or a squeaky [whiny] wheel?
Definitely there is a case that GSP tries to be the face in that he wants to be the epitome of honor. But instead of making that case you're talking about what people think of him. Are we talking about cause or effect?
The heels in the last paragraph or much better examples of fighters who actively try to portray themselves a specific ways, with all of them being heels.
Some examples of faces might be Stann, Davis, Maia, perhaps Askren, and ironically Jones, whose attempts of late seem to be backfiring.