I thought the UFC's promotion of Velasquez was a bit tacky but it seems to be working. [video=youtube;TAQ6l2KMAaw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAQ6l2KMAaw[/video]
I'm trying to think of a bigger celebrity who is so openly proud of his Mexican heritage. Given the huge anti-immigration fervor in this country, it's a pretty interesting story. That's the kind of dynamic that could be good for ratings. And if you believe OKCupid's survey, MMA is much more popular among latino men than white men, and is bigger for them than every sport aside from soccer and boxing. So yeah, I can see why the UFC is pushing Cain as much as they can.
Its definitely been tacky but even more affective than I thought. The hype was pretty heavy handed but ended up working out beautifully with the card being in Anaheim with some other Mexican American fighters and Cain whooped Lesnar's ass to boot (that alone will make you a lot more famous) Also read some theories about how with Oscar De La Hoya and the Marquez brothers fading in boxing the UFC really swooped in to fill the void that Mexican fight fans are looking for. Still think its kind of funny how the UFC keeps pimping his Mexican fighter spirit and all this but he was born in Salinas. I mean I know they're marketing largely to Mexican Americans and that his parents were imigrants, plus Salinas is basically Mexico above the border but jeez. Should be interesting to see how the promote Cain-Dos Santos.
