And then he sees another creature he can get fame off of. In the monkey's final moments, he fist bumps him. So he has shoved all of that terrible trauma down and instead capitalized on it all for the meager fame he has. He has his mauled co-star there to shill her even. And so when he tries to use the UFO for his own gain to control it, it absolutely backfires on him and does him in.
See, I saw his motivation for this behavior differently.
I think his experience with Gordy convinced him that he was 'Special' somehow and that the normal rules of untamable predators didn't apply to him. I don't view it as capitalizing or shilling, I think he felt he was uniquely and divinely appointed for such a situation as that.
Gordy was going to give him a fist bump because that portion of it's training triggered somehow upon seeing him under the table. He interpreted that to mean that Gordy trusted him. Then, during his monologue at Jupiter's Claim he says that the Alien trusts him. I think he was very much a victim of his own pride.