BJ Penn. That’s been the lone draw for the lower weight classes of the UFC. Now, with the addition of the Flyweight division the UFC has one more weight class to figure out how to market.Outside of UFC 129, the Toronto stadium show featuring GSP vs. Ja…
BJ Penn. That’s been the lone draw for the lower weight classes of the UFC. Now, with the addition of the Flyweight division the UFC has one more weight class to figure out how to market.
Outside of UFC 129, the Toronto stadium show featuring GSP vs. Jake Shields, Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick and Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida, no pay-per-view featuring a lighter weight championship has produced more than 375,000 buys since BJ fell out of the 155 title picture.
The average of those pay-per-views has been 291,000 buys. When the UFC gave the fans a UFC Bantamweight Championship fight for free on Versus it failed to crack the one million viewer mark. However, the fact that it was aired on Versus plays in to that statistic.
For whatever reason these weight classes have yet to capture the attention of the casual fan. Leaving the UFC with mediocre ratings and buys for their shows headlined by some of the most technically sound and exciting fighters in the game.
What can the UFC do to market these exciting fighters and their respective weight classes to increase their value? Here are five ways I think they can tackle the problem.
Streaming music service Spotify might want to call the UFC to help in future marketing campaigns, with the No. 1 MMA promotion conducting the most successful Spotify effort ever, according to tech site Mashable. The UFC asked fans to help pick the walk…
Streaming music service Spotify might want to call the UFC to help in future marketing campaigns, with the No. 1 MMA promotion conducting the most successful Spotify effort ever, according to tech site Mashable.
The UFC asked fans to help pick the walkout music for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 15 live finale, which was won by Mike Chiesa. Neither company wanted to publicly disclose how many votes were cast, but Spotify mentioned it was “about four times as many votes as any previous campaign” hosted by Spotify.
“UFC and music are quite synonymous because of the walkout music,” according to Graham James, Spotify spokesman. “They were going to fans where they live and breathe on Facebook and using music – a medium they could relate to.”
UFC President Dana White and the UFC utilize social media to help increase the company’s brand value and exposure, more than 8.7 million likes on the UFC Facebook page. The official UFC Twitter account has almost 650,000 followers, while Dana White’s Twitter account has more than two million followers.
White also frequently chats—and debates—with MMA fans courageous enough to attack him via the popular social networking site. He also sometimes makes public announcements via Twitter, giving fans firsthand knowledge of potential fights.
Spotify has held similar social efforts with Subaru, Gillette and Universal Pictures and will continue reaching out to corporate America. However, the music service may want to ping the UFC to host a similar effort in the future, after the great success of TUF Live.
ONE FC’s first event in Malaysia, aptly named Destiny of Warriors, will take place on the 23rd of June in Kuala Lumpur’s Stadium Negara. Headlining the card is a light-heavyweight clash between Strikeforce and Pride veteran Renato ‘Babalu’ S…
ONE FC’s first event in Malaysia, aptly named Destiny of Warriors, will take place on the 23rd of June in Kuala Lumpur’s Stadium Negara. Headlining the card is a light-heavyweight clash between Strikeforce and Pride veteran Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral against Dream veteran Tatsuya Mizuno. We take a look at 3 of the fighters on this card who could make a huge splash in the MMA circuit with a win.
1. Adam Kayoom
Adam Kayoom is a pioneer in Malaysia MMA. Well versed in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he carries the burden of fighting in front of an expectant hometown crowd.
Having won multiple regional Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu titles, Kayoom makes his ONE FC debut against Gregor Gracie.
A victory against a decorated Jiu-Jitsu opponent with the ‘Gracie’ surname is a surefire way to gain attention from MMA fans, and Adam Kayoom has the opportunity to do just that. Kayoom would have to try avoid leaving his limbs or necks exposed, and might be best suited to try keeping the fight standing as Gracie has yet to show significant development in his standup.
2. Leonardo Issa
Brazilian Leonardo Issa is riding a 6-fight winning streak heading into his fight with leglock specialist Masakazu Imanari. Imanari is a Dream veteran whose leglock submissions are one of the best, if not the best, in MMA.
Issa is no slouch on the ground either. He has finished all but one of his victories, and most of them by way of submission. It will be a huge feather in his cap if he manages to submit Imanari.
3. Zorobabel Moreira
Granted, Zorobabel Moreira has been a name that is slowly creeping up in MMA circles, but a win against Roger Huerta will catapult his stock into a whole different stratosphere.
Moreira has looked impressive in his two previous appearances under the ONE FC banner. He has demonstrated varied striking to complement his world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu accomplishments. His versatility was evident in his last fight, where he overwhelmed his opponent Felipe Enomoto with kicks and punches before securing the win via armbar.
Roger Huerta was at one time considered a future UFC light-weight champion. He has an all-action style that has excited fight fans all over the world. Huerta took a temporary hiatus to film the movie Tekken, and is in the midst of his worst slump in his career.
A victory over Huerta would gain Moreira worldwide exposure. He stands on the verge of becoming ONE FC’s first bona-fide superstar.
A plethora of recent injuries has forced the UFC to make adjustments to a few of its high profile matchups this summer. One of the most notable shake-ups includes a new opponent for former Bellator Middleweight champ Hector Lombard, as he is now …
A plethora of recent injuries has forced the UFC to make adjustments to a few of its high profile matchups this summer.
One of the most notable shake-ups includes a new opponent for former Bellator Middleweight champ Hector Lombard, as he is now set to make his UFC debut against Tim Boetsch at UFC 149.
Now that this bout is hopefully set in stone—injury pending, of course—let’s take a look at the head-to-toe breakdown of this upcoming middleweight clash.
Historically, Dana White has not been very excited about promoting the possibility of women fighting in the UFC. In fact, he once flat out told TMZ that women would never fight in the Octagon.Over the last few months, it appears White has been a little…
Historically, Dana White has not been very excited about promoting the possibility of women fighting in the UFC. In fact, he once flat out told TMZ that women would never fight in the Octagon.
Over the last few months, it appears White has been a little more open-minded with the idea of having women fight for the UFC.
Following the UFC on FX 3 event this past weekend, the UFC President spoke with MMAJunkie and had this to say about the subject:
“My thing with the female fighting is that I love Ronda Rousey, man. She’s as tough and as nasty as it comes. I love Ronda, but I think Ronda is one of those girls that’s up here. You have a lot of girls who compete in the sport that aren’t on her level. It’s not about having women’s fights. It’s about having enough good women in a division.”
There has been a lot of speculation as to how the UFC is going to utilize the star power of Rousey. Currently she, Gilbert Melendez and Daniel Cormier appear to be the three fighters giving credit and relevancy to the Strikeforce brand.
White has consistently said there are not enough good women fighters to sustain a division. At one time, the same could have been said about flyweight fighters.
Perhaps now that the UFC is taking a stronger look at women’s mixed martial arts, we will see a tournament to crown the first UFC female champion, much like we are seeing for the current UFC flyweights.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
Although Anderson Silva is set to defend his title against his rival Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, that bout could fall apart due to an injury. As we’ve seen in the past few weeks, the injury bug has been biting a handful of fighters and creating a mess for…
Although Anderson Silva is set to defend his title against his rival Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, that bout could fall apart due to an injury. As we’ve seen in the past few weeks, the injury bug has been biting a handful of fighters and creating a mess for scheduling UFC events.
The rematch is one of a handful of rematches that fight fans feel they need to see. Just like the buildup for the rematch between Silva and Sonnen, these rematches have quite a bit of hype behind them.
Even if the bouts won’t headline a UFC event based around hype they certainly will hold their own on any card based on impact in the division and excitement.
Streaming music service Spotify might want to call the UFC to help in future marketing campaigns, with the No. 1