The new big trend in viral YouTube videos is sticking someone in a disguise and sending them out to interact with the world. There was that awesome video of Crossfit athlete Kenneth Leverich dressing up like an elderly man then schooling the young’uns down at Muscle Beach. Now the UFC and Reebok are getting in on the action by putting Paige VanZant and Chris Weidman undercover during the UFC’s International Fight Week.
They put a wig and a plaster nose on Paige and pretended she was a reporter for Reebok. She went around asking fans what they thought of her. Surprisingly, the results were pretty positive, except for one woman who said “She’s retired, isn’t she?” Although that’s not so much a burn as it is a legitimate question – and being retired at such an early age would be a compliment in the long run.
Then they stuck what has to be the worst mustache and wig on Chris Weidman and sent him out to mess with people. He ended up putting on an impromptu open workout, with pieces of his costume falling off as he went. It’s some good clean fun and a little bit of brand rehabilitation for Reebok, who is still getting a lot of heat for cutting into the sponsorship money fighters used to make.