The UFC was under fire on social media on Saturday for apparently offering a media role to TikTok star Addison Rae.<\/b>
\nGetty\t Dana White and the rest of his company are under fire for hiring Addison Rae. A bunch of people from the UFC community, and even the broader sports community, are angry with the UFC for handing social medial influencer Addison Rae the microphone and a big stage for some apparent media work at UFC 264 this week. Rae is one of TikTok\u2019s biggest stars. She has over 80 million followers on that app alone, and she\u2019s one of the most popular social media celebrities on the planet. On Friday, Rae posted, \u201cI studied broadcast journalism in college for 3 whole months to prepare for this moment\u201d. I studied broadcast journalism in college for 3 whole months to prepare for this moment pic.twitter.com\/5Z95OTSVTA Addison Rae (@whoisaddison) July 10, 2021 Rae could be seen in the picture standing in front of one of the UFC\u2019s designated interview areas at UC 264 in Las Vegas with an official UFC mic in her hand. That don\u2019t just give those to anyone, so it looks like the UFC hired Rae to talk to UFC stars at UFC 264. According to Dextero, Rae briefly studied sports broadcasting at Louisiana State University, but she ended her studies after she became a huge star on social media. ALL the latest UFC news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on UFC newsletter here! Sign up for the Heavy on UFC Newsletter! While Rae is sure to have many fans and supporters who are happy for her to land the apparent gig at UFC 264, some other people on social media were downright upset with the idea that Rae could suddenly command such a prominent role at UFC 264. Never in a million years would I\u2019d think I\u2019d see Addison Rae interviewing Dustin Poirier.. pic.twitter.com\/JnVdi0HWt9 \u2014 Dexerto (@Dexerto) July 10, 2021 Steve Benko is a sports producer for a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh. He posted, \u201cImagine spending four years in college plus unpaid internships plus reporter\/producer\/editor\/photog jobs that pay next to nothing to even have the SHOT at a better job\u2026and all it takes for Addison Rae is TikTok and three months of college to be ahead of you.\u201d Imagine spending four years in college plus unpaid internships plus reporter\/producer\/editor\/photog jobs that pay next to nothing to even have the SHOT at a better job \u2026and all it takes for Addison Rae is TikTok and three months of college to be ahead of you. https:\/\/t.co\/U01hx6tgGT \u2014 Steve Benko (@SteveBenko) July 10, 2021 There were also a lot of comedic reaction to the UFC\u2019s decision to credential and presumedly hire Rae for the role. You can see some of the most popular takes from various social media users below. Some of them are about all the broadcast journalists out there who might feel skipped over by Rae. People who graduated with a major in broadcast journalism but couldn\u2019t get a job in the field seeing Addison Rae get a gig as a UFC reporter after putting in next to no work pic.twitter.com\/G2BdfrGTSH \u2014 Rich (@UptownDC_Rich) July 10, 2021 MMA Twitter watching Addison Rae land a job as a UFC Reporter: pic.twitter.com\/CmorLU8Hec \u2014 \u265b\u2206ZRL (@ThatFijiKidd) July 10, 2021 Should we hire someone who busted their butt through college, and genuinely loves UFC and is hungry for an opportunity in journalism?? Nah, let\u2019s hire Addison Rae because she\u2019s popular for \u201cthrowing it back\u201d on tik tok. https:\/\/t.co\/vZ62DUR3iX \u2014 Z (@ZackFrongillo) July 10, 2021 Crazy that I have more college experience in sports broadcasting than Addison Rae, yet she is working the UFC fight tonight and I\u2019m working construction busting my behind\u2026cold world out there folks\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/TKKUQkAmsS \u2014 Brandon Wolf (@BrandonWolfCLE) July 10, 2021 One of them suggests the UFC accomplished exactly what it wanted when it saw Rae\u2019s name trending on Twitter. UFC executives watching Addison Rae trend for getting a ufc reporter job off 3 months of college knowing they only picked her to boost engagement pic.twitter.com\/rvBbLWsAbM \u2014 jw (@iam_johnw2) July 10, 2021 Follow the Heavy on UFC Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content! While the UFC giving Rae such a role at the biggest fight of the year was sure to baffle some people and even downright hurt others, the move kind of does actually make some sense from the UFC\u2019s perspective. Part of the UFC\u2019s mission as the world\u2019s leading MMA promoter is to constantly seek ways to find access to new audiences. It\u2019s why the company works so hard to get into new markets outside the United States, and why hiring a social media influencer like Rae would also be a savvy move. The same thing could probably be said about ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith. Does he know much about MMA? Probably not. But does he help bring new eyeballs to the sport? Absolutely. A post shared by ADDISON RAE (@addisonraee) Look, the UFC is a business and a publicly-owned one at that. That means the UFC is always going to be looking for new and innovative ways to promote its product. Rae is just the latest example of the UFC continuing to try new things, and she\u2019s probably just the first go at the UFC trying to get its product in front of a demographic to which it previously had no or limited access. READ NEXT: Dustin Poirier Explains Stunningly Accurate Prediction Twitter: @Kelsey_McCarson YouTube: Real Talk with Kelsey and Rachel Unlock the latest UFC news, rumors and exclusives \u2014 direct to your inbox. \u2193<\/p>\n