Our tale of corporate MMA run a muck starts when a group of loyal George St. Pierre fans dressed up for the UFC 217 weigh ins. And let the record show they looked fly as fuck.
Who said the fans don't remember @GeorgesStPierre?!? #UFC217 pic.twitter.com/UqTBPD6PWL
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) November 2, 2017
What a fantastic moment. One of the sports biggest stars returns from a four year lay off and his fans pay a special homage. It’s the type of moment that encapsulates MMA fandom, extremely passionate and a quirky as fuck.
So it really sucks that it was all some marketing bullshit.
Those dressed-up “GSP fans” were part of a marketing campaign, by the way. They were paid to be there.
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) November 2, 2017
What the fuck? This whole thing instantly does a 180, from ridiculously awesome to corny as fuck.
First of all, who was the moron who broke kayfabe on this? If you are going to go through the trouble of hiring a bunch of people to dress up as GSP and show up to an event, have the common sense to put a gag order on them. And who are these morons? These dumb ass actors didn’t read the playbook? Whoever in GSP’s management put this together should be fired.
Nothing is more important to pulling off a stunt like this than making it seem genuine. Now that it is fake as hell, doesn’t this fight seem just a bit sadder? It’s like GSP is returning and the only enthusiasm we can muster is hiring some out of work 20 somethings off Craigslist. It just solidifies the narrative that MMA moved on from GSP. At least that’s how this stunt makes it seem.
I am so disappointed I never want to see another Kyokushinkai Karate headband in my life. Never before have the words “Must win” taken such a big L.
GSP fan section here for the #UFC217 press conference pic.twitter.com/Ii46WNJJzv
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) November 2, 2017
