Another Savvy Business Move by UFC and MMA
These days, anyone who is looking to dabble in MMA can find a local gym with an octagon and a trainer willing to train you to be the next UFC star. Now, however, UFC itself has taken the grass roots concept to a new level.
I have said before that UFC has been savvy in its growth efforts over the past several years as the sport has gradually shifted into the mainstream. The latest venture, UFC-branded fitness center, is just the next step in the process.
The gym features the traditional assortment of weights, treadmills, exercise bikes and other aerobic equipment, along with television monitors and blaring music. But the major differences are the obvious UFC trappings. An Octagon in the center of gym is used for martial arts classes. Huge wall photos of UFC Hall of Famers and life-sized cardboard cutouts of current stars decorate the interiors.
The idea is brilliant, as it exposes several types of fans to the sports. First, you have the amateur and budding MMA fighters who love the sport, practice it at an amateur level and maybe hope to hit the big time. Next, you have the casual fans who will work out at the gym, never set foot in the Octagon, but absorb the MMA theme, and become interested in the sport. The concept additionally provides an extra income stream to UFC fighters, as individual stars will have their names applied to each gym.
It also is another way of breaking down whatever negative stigmas exist by making the brand name part of communities and marketing the fighters as larger-than-life stars to families. It also creates new venues to market the company’s stars and major events, as part of the concept includes regular personal appearances by fighters at the gyms.
As always with ventures spearheaded by Dana White, this development bears watching for agents and sports lawyers who are thinking of expanding their base into representing MMA fighters.
