Impoliteness strategies in UFC press conference

This thesis aimed at examining the use of impoliteness in the UFC Press Conference. The phenomena of impoliteness can be found in any human interaction. It also can be found in any situation. One of them is entertainment. One of the entertainments show is UFC. This thesis examines the impoliteness strategies in UFC Press Conference. This study aims to analyze the use of impoliteness done by Conor McGregor and its responses done by Khabib Nurmagomedov. Furthermore, this thesis also analyzes entertainment factors that trigger the use of impoliteness done by McGregor. The press conference of UFC 229 between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov is selected as the data of this study. In this research, the researcher applies Culpeper's (2005) framework about impoliteness and its responses. Moreover, Culpeper’s theory about generic factors is applied. The researcher in this study applies a qualitative approach. In order to collect the data, the researcher transcribes press conference video into transcription text. The researcher underlines and gives codes to all sentences, words, and phrases that contain impoliteness and their responses. Since this study is in the entertainment area, the researcher interprets the data in order to examine the entertainment factors that trigger the use of McGregor's impoliteness. The researcher found that Conor McGregor performed four types of impoliteness proposed by Culpeper (2005): Bald on Record Impoliteness, Positive Impoliteness, Negative Impoliteness, Mock Impoliteness or Sarcasm. Withhold Politeness did not find in the data. Meanwhile, Khabib performed all types of responses toward impoliteness. Four types of responses doe by Khabib are Accepting Face Attack, Offensive Countering, Defensive Countering, and No response. Moreover, the researcher found that three generic factors exist in McGregor's impoliteness and journalist's questions, they are intrinsic pleasue, voyeuristic pleasure, and the audience is safe.