Brendan Schaub hasn’t been a fan of the ESPN-era, to say the least. He has stated the new pay-per-view method will limit stars to come back. But, one thing he is happy about it, is the fact that without the top stars, the trash-talk may be limited.
Schaub believes the UFC is getting past being the WWE entertainment-era, which interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier hopes he is right.
“I don’t need you and Khabib to talk shit,” Schaub told Poirier on Food Truck Diaries (h/t Bloody Elbow). “I kind of feel now that Conor has kinda been out of the picture. The whole trash talk, that WWE entertainment phase that we were going through — I call the ‘entertainment era’ — it’s kinda over.”
“I hope so man,” Poirier replied.
“Especially with ESPN,” Schaub continued. “With the new business model, and they’re going away from superstars and the pay-per-view model, there’s no reason to act like that anymore.”
If he is right, Poirier can’t wait. He knows when fighters actually don’t like each other, or they are doing it just because. At the end of the day, Poirier knows all that matters is what they do inside the Octagon.
“It’s unattractive to me when it’s forced,” he said. “When you can tell it’s fake, or you can tell this guy has premeditated what he would say in press conferences? I don’t like that shit. If it’s real, if these guys really don’t like each other, then it’s fun to watch. Some of these guys are forcing it, and you can tell. I don’t like that shit, man.”
