Opinion: The Name Game

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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This past weekend's Ultimate Fighting Championship card was another Apex show with minimal stakes. The main event saw Roman Dolidze edge out Marvin Vettori in their rematch in a largely nondescript contest. I don’t mean to be disrespectful towards the card’s participants, but that left a lot of nothing to be addressed this week. Neither Dolidze nor Vettori were close enough to the top of the division to really stir things up in the title picture. So what stood out to me? There was yet another fighter— Chidi Njokuani— unable to put a name on the tip of his tongue when he was asked whom he would like to fight next.

A longtime pet peeve of mine has been fighters who are given the opportunity to make a callout in their post-fight interview and have nothing to say. “Whoever the UFC wants.” “Someone in the top 15.” “I deserve someone in the top 5.” At least the final two have something specific within their request, but that still doesn’t provide a NAME.

I’ve heard arguments about why fighters don’t have names before. There’s the idea that a lot of the fighters don’t know much about the other fighters on the roster outside of the top names. I have no doubt about the validity of that argument. The types of things fighters tend to geek out on are more physical in nature than knowing which fighters are ranked not too far ahead of them according to the latest rankings update from Fight Matrix. Throw in the fact that, depending on the weight division, there may be upwards of 100 fighters on roster, a revolving door.

There’s also the argument that a fighter has been punched in the face for 15 minutes—perhaps even 25—and they’re not going to remember a name to offer who is asking the question. Again, that makes a lot of sense to me. But there is someone who would have almost as much interest in the success of the winning fighter who hasn’t been hit in the face repeatedly: their corner.

Oftentimes, it is the corner of the fighter that does the things that a fighter finds to be tedious or just flat-out boring, such as film study and/or game planning. That sounds like there would be someone connected to the winning fighter who would probably be aware of the competition ahead of – or adjacent to -- their fighter. At the very least, the fighter’s manager – the one who accepts or declines fights on the fighter's behalf – knows about the rest of the roster and could keep the corner informed. SOMEONE associated with the fighter has to know about the outlay of the division. If someone knows about the outlay of the division, it isn’t hard for someone in the corner to have a name ready to slip to the fighter following the conclusion of the contest.

It’s more beneficial for a fighter to have a name on the ready than one might think. Fighters are prideful and tend to respond to a call out, provided not everyone is calling them out a la Conor McGregor. After all, they don’t want the public to have a perception that they might be dodging someone if they’ve been called out, even if they have a legit reason for not taking that fight. I will grant that doesn’t always guarantee the fight happens because of the call out, but it sure as hell increases the chances it does happen by an exponential margin.

It’s an exceptionally good strategy for a fighter early in their career as they’re more likely to secure a more favorable stylistic matchup... provided they’re being fed good information on who to call out. If their management team decides it might be good to season them for a bit longer before a definitive step up in competition, they can even call out a fighter adjacent to themselves, something that is much more subjective when a fighter is on the up upon initially making it to the UFC. Sometimes, it’s more important to gain experience than to move up the ladder. It’s even more important to have as much control over your own destiny as possible.

It’s not like the UFC is satisfied with them not offering a name either. If the UFC didn’t want fighters to name someone, they wouldn’t offer the opportunity to provide a name. They’d skip over that part of the interview. For them, it creates a natural part of their promotional videos when a fighter makes a callout. I can still recall Nick Diaz yelling out “Where you at Georges!?”

Just as important – if not more important – is having a realistic callout ready as well. When everyone was calling out Conor McGregor, it got to the point where it felt like going through the motions when someone expelled the name of Mystic Mac. Jeremy Stephens became a punchline when he called out McGregor in a press conference, everyone except himself knowing full well he wasn’t getting a shot at McGregor. Furthermore, if one is near the top of the division, they better make sure there isn’t a more obvious candidate for a title shot before calling out the champ. Don’t come across as someone who is out of touch with reality. No one likes those who sniff their own farts.

When one is first starting out their career, a name will suffice. At that point, it isn’t a given you’ll get the microphone following a win. However, as one climbs the ladder, they would do well to prepare something memorable. Much of Georges St-Pierre's popularity stemmed from his begging on his knees for a title shot. Chael Sonnen’s schtick with imitating Superstar Billy Graham worked wonders for him, making him one of the most popular figures in the UFC at one point, a status far beyond what his resume indicated.

Perhaps some fighters truly believe a real badass doesn’t care who is put in front of them, believing having a name shreds the idea of the “anyone, any place, any time” mantra that so many fighters hope to give off. Having a name doesn’t violate that ethos. Running from someone realistically calling you out does, but not providing a name of your own. For the sake of their own careers, I pray more fighters – or at least their teams – begin to make educated callouts. After all, what could it hurt?