UFC promises to bring Dennis Siver out of hiding for Sunday's Conor McGregor fight

LAS VEGAS – Dennis Siver has been noticeably absent from the UFC’s promotional materials for Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 59 headliner, but company officials insist that will change in the days leading up to the event.

“It was a whole plan of timing,” UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told MMAjunkie. “It was a teaser. When you start to see the promos this week, it will all be about the fight, Dennis Siver and what he’s accomplished.”

Early promotional videos for the event, which airs on FOX Sports 1 from Boston’s TD Garden, focused almost entirely on Conor McGregor (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), the brash Irish featherweight who has quickly become one of the UFC’s biggest superstars in just four fights for the company. While in many ways it makes perfect sense – after all, McGregor’s popularity dwarfs that of Siver (22-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC), who doesn’t speak much English, anyway – critics couldn’t help but wonder if UFC officials had lost their mind by essentially promoting one side of a matchup rather than both combatants.

Dennis Siver

Fertitta joked the somewhat-risky move was already paying dividends.

“It was kind of just a taste, and also we just wanted to get you guys pissed off and riled up,” Fertitta said with a smile. “Because we’ve done it so very few times, it stands out. We did it with Tito Ortiz in the early days. But because we don’t do it that often, I think it’s worked well. It’s got people talking.”

However, with fight week now upon us, Fertitta said fans can expect to see a shift in the marketing strategy, and Siver will be pushed to the forefront. And while he’s a man of few words, don’t think Siver hasn’t taken notice of the buildup thus far.

“We just got a quote from Dennis Siver, and Dennis said, ‘I’m coming to Boston, and I’m going to punish Conor McGregor,'” UFC President Dana White said. “When you’re a guy like this that’s been sh-t on – and I’m sure not only does he think he’s been sh0t on by Conor McGregor, I’m sure he feels like he’s also been shit on by the UFC – now he’s coming in here looking to knock this kid’s head off.

Conor McGregor

“Listen, I believe that anything can happen in a fight, especially with a guy that can punch like Siver can. Siver has been in a ton of big fights. He’s fought in front of his home country in Germany. That dude has been in the UFC for a very long time. He’s fought big guys at 155 pounds. In this business, the media can say whatever they want, but anything can happen in a fight, and Dennis Siver is no joke. This guy isn’t some bum that was swept in.”

Of course, if McGregor wins the fight, he’s already been promised a shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in a contest that could easily sell out a stadium in Ireland or Brazil. But while it seems the UFC may be banking heavily on a McGregor win (a result oddsmakers now have as a 12-1 certainty), White said a Siver victory wouldn’t be disaster, either.

“The way that this thing works is every fight we put on leads to another fight,” White said. “We just opened up everything in Germany. With all the hype that’s going on around Conor, if this guy comes in and beats Conor, now you’re in Germany. That’s the way it works.”

Until then, expect to see plenty more on McGregor. But don’t put Siver on any milk cartons just yet.

For more on UFC Fight Night 59, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.