Such a weird write up. MM has some valid points and some less than valid points. Complaining about the marketing is asinine when he was pushed early on as the ME in multiple types of events, including several Fights on Fox, and has failed repeatedly to draw. So of course the UFC would limit marketing his fights. It makes no sense to throw away money marketing what doesn't draw.
Likewise his point about favoritism for TJ is odd when he wants Garbrandt because Garbrandt is a bigger draw than Borg. Borg is still IN the FW division and Garbrandt is the brand new Bantam Champ who hasn't even had a defense yet, and has little to nothing to gain in a Champ v. Champ title bout against one of the worst drawing champions in the organization. If they grant that to MM, they're favoring him over both Borg and Garbrandt.
Then there's the "TJ won't make weight" argument, which I find strange. While TJ doesn't have FW experience that I'm aware of, he's never missed weight. Borg, however, missed weight in 2 of his last 4 fights. So if the concern is missed weight causing him not to get his title defense record... why isn't that a complaint of his for having to face Borg? I don't know how common it is for a contract to guarantee both "showing" purses PLUS having the fight cancelled if one misses weight, so I'm not sure how to feel about that request.
That aside, everything else that he's complaining about does have merit. Dana's pressuring him to take the matches that Dana wants him to take and pressing the issue on multiple avenues, including public/media pressure. This is... pretty common for professional fighting. Especially in the UFC. I think Ronda and maybe GSP in his prime are the only ones who've never had to face it. Maybe Anderson in his prime as well? Dana's even tried these tactics with Conor multiple times (even if they don't work and Dana folds). I'm not saying it's fair or it's right. Just that it's not a special case for MM, which might actually work in his favor in terms of gathering support from other fighters.
I also wonder if there's more stuff going on that isn't being mentioned. MM has to know he isn't a draw and that even if he gets Garbrandt, it has great draw and MM beats him... there's not much after that he can use to grow his earnings significantly. And how many fights are left on his contract as well? Because I could potentially see a situation where MM could be looking to beat the Title Defense record using Garbrandt to make what is likely his only larger than average draw... then bounce and use those events to angle a better deal at Bellator, where his personal draw would matter less because he gets sponsorships back.
