Even Conor McGregor admitted this subculture of sports fans is bizarre.
In the very first episode of the Embedded series promoting Conor McGregor’s Boston headliner against Dennis Siver, we learned something new about ‘the Notorious’.
A group of people waited outside his hotel with the hope of securing an autograph from the rising UFC star. McGregor obliged, but he didn’t ignore the obvious. He knew they wanted to make money from selling his John Hancock and he openly talked about it with them.
“If they go to the hassle of standing outside in the cold, getting the pictures printed, showing up, at the end of the day, they’re supporting the event. At the end of the day, they’re fans of the show because they understand the fighters, they understand the pictures, they understand everything. So they’re fans, let them make a few quid. That’s the way I see it, anyway.”
“They’re trying to make money so they can buy the PPVs, so they can buy the merchandise, so they can print them pictures. So sign them motherfucking pictures. It’s kill or be killed, that’s what I say! (laughs)”
Although McGregor’s infinitely more famous now than he was back then, meaning the demand for and price of his signature has also skyrocketed, it hasn’t appeared to change this stance. You still see him signing photos for fans even with the knowledge that they are only collecting the cash rather than memorabilia.
This couldn’t be further from what former UFC bantamweight champion and current UFC analyst Miesha Tate feels about those folks who profit from someone else’s name. She received some backlash for voicing her approval of Canadian teenybopper Shawn Mendes (Yeah, we had to Google him too) arguing with someone who was demanding his autograph.
Two each is own, we should have the right to chose, we are people not a commodity it sucks to be treated like property https://t.co/RvSDPPYoeZ
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 9, 2017
To Tate’s credit, she had her guns fully loaded for the back-and-forth she would face with some Twitter users on the topic.
‘Cupcake’ is a pioneer of WMMA and as such, she knows all about not making money doing what she loves. Although she became one of the most recognisable fighters in UFC history, she had to grind to reach that status. When she first started making her name in MMA, Dana White was telling the world that women would never compete in the UFC.
She didn’t get into the sport to turn a quick buck, nor does she appreciate folks who try to use her name to increase their bank balance.
Show up w ethics and we will, I'll gladly sign for anyone but to make a dollar off of me, it's wasnt your blood on the canvas it was mine. https://t.co/GM5z4poTnb
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 9, 2017
If a fan genuinely wants her autograph, she will oblige, but she doesn’t take too kindly to those who deceive her to try and get her scrawl.
She considers this to be a form of stealing and it’s hard to argue with her reasoning for this bold statement.
We have company's like @Topps that pay us to sign then and resell them. That is fair. It's not fair when "fans" deceive us. https://t.co/lIUnKsBSaV
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 9, 2017
If you are making money off someone else's hard work & not giving them a cut that's stealing. https://t.co/UftOrltZw2
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 9, 2017
You can see both fighters’ perspectives and you can argue in favour of both stances. Neither is wrong, neither is right, it all comes down to the individual.
Conor McGregor is happy letting people sell his name for the almighty dollar, Miesha Tate isn’t.
It’s as simple as that.
