Chael Sonnen and Marketing 101

So MMA fighters and marketers have a lot in common. They have to make you believe that their product is superior to alternatives in every way possible. Now there are two main ways that an MMA fighter can market themselves:

1. Their performances
2. Their hyping of the fight (trash-talk, interaction with fans, etc.)

If you put on boring fights, no one will buy tickets to your shows. If you don't hype the fight, no one will know you are even fighting or have any invested interest.

Chael Sonnen (above) after UFC 109.
Photo courtesy of ufc.com

Let me introduce you to my friend, Chael Sonnen. If you are the casual MMA fan, if I would have said this name in 2009, you would've replied, "who?". Hailing from the mean streets of West-Linn, Oregon, Chael Sonnen has become a star seemingly overnight. Let me tell you how.

In 2009, Chael had campaigned for a fight in his home state at UFC 102. When he called UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to ask for a fight, Joe replied with a familiar statement, "who?". This was when Chael had decided that something needed to be done.

After defeating a heavily favored Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, he was declared number one contender to Anderson Silva's 185-pound crown. This is when the attack began. From February to their (Chael and Anderson) scheduled bout in August of 2010 at UFC 117, Chael began relentlessly attacking his opponent. Nothing was held sacred. Chael insulted Anderson, his family, his home country of Brazil and all of Anderson's training partners. Chael made his voice heard. He made everyone invest in this fight. All fans wanted to see how Anderson would react. Who would reign victorious? Would Anderson make Chael eat his words? Would Chael back it all up at take the crown? Chael was choked and forced to tap in the closing minutes of a five-round thriller. A fight which he dominated every second, expect the one where he tapped out.

The minute the fight was over, the trash talk continued. People wanted to see it again. Fast forward to July 2012. The rematch happened at UFC 148 and the same outcome occurred. Anderson retained his crown. Let us take a closer look at what had happened behind the scenes.

Chael became a celebrity and company front man during that two year period. He made more money than he ever did in his life in those two fights alone. He used record breaking, unrelenting trash talk and backed it up with his exciting performances to make people watch his fights.

"Chael Sonnen" is his product. He advertised it, he displayed it and we bought it. Marketing 101.

Below is about a compilation of his legendary trash talk. Listen for a few minutes, some of it's pretty funny.

Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen (SWOT Analysis)

UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones will square off against Chael Sonnen on April 27th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This will likely be the most anticipated fight the UFC will have to offer in 2013. For those of you familiar with MMA, you are aware of how this matchup came to fruition. Unfortunately this post will specifically cater to those of you who are informed. So lets take a closer look with a SWOT (strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats) analysis of this matchup.

Sonnen (left) and Jones (right) share some Thanksgiving
turkey at the TUF house.
Image courtesy of bleacherreport.com

Strengths: There is no denying the draw power of these two. According to a report done, these two men rank sixth and third, respectively, among the top 10 draws in the company. Jon Jones has the mystique among even the most hardcore fan that this phenom simply can't be beaten. Chael Sonnen has the WWE-esque trash talk to hype a fight that can be seen here. Love them or hate them, people will buy the PPV. It's just a fact. Also the fact that these two men are coaching opposites on this season of the Ultimate Fighter, will expose them in different lights for fans to invest in. Why search online for pre-fight interviews when you can tune in every Tuesday night on FX?

Opportunities: It is well known that the light-heavyweight division was lacking in true contenders at the time of this matchup. This is the result of  Jon Jones having already run through all of them without remorse. Also with the acquisition of the Strikeforce talent to the roster and current injury to Jones, it gives the UFC light-heavyweight division time to get fights taken care of to develop a true contender. There are two-main possibilities, Dan Henderson and Alexander Gustaffson. These two men will square off against their respective opponents roughly the same time Chael and Jones will fight. This will give a perfect timeframe and contender to whoever comes out of this fight victorious.

Threats: One threat to this matchup is the fact that most casual MMA fans flamed the UFC brass for setting it up. No one saw this coming, at all. This fight also goes against the golden rule of which UFC president Dana white preaches. Title shots are earned. This one however, was not. It's a simple truth. Fans want to see the number one contender against the champ. This won't be the case come April 27th. This really outraged a lot of fans and UFC fighters alike. Will it effect pay-per-view and ticket sales?  Probably not. There is also no denying that skepticism is at an all-time high among the fans and fighters when it comes to fight match-making.

Weaknesses: I'm going to be 100% honest about this. There aren't any weaknesses. If Jones wins, he shuts up the smack-talking kingpin. If Chael wins, we will see the biggest upset since Matt Serra-GSP. MMA media sites would implode.

Do yourself a favor and tune in every Tuesday night at 8 pm for the newest episode of The Ultimate Fighter. You won't be upset you did. 

Spike TV Signs Randy Couture

UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture has signed a multi-year deal with Spike TV. For those of you who don't know, Spike TV broadcasts Bellator, the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) number one competitor in mixed martial arts (MMA). So what does this mean?

Randy Couture (shown above). Photo courtesy of fightinginsider.com

Let me break it down for those of you not familiar with this sport. Randy Couture was a pioneer of MMA back in the late 90's when the sport was still looked upon as "human cockfighting". He became the oldest fighter to win a UFC championship at the age of 42 and the first fighter to win championships in two different weight classes. After going back and forth contemplating retirement, he finally announced his permanent leave from fighting in April of 2011 in front of a crowd of 55,000. He is arguably one of the most accomplished fighters from the UFC. 

Now let me get to the point. With Zuffa (the company that owns the UFC) having recently shut down Strikeforce, a sister promotion of the UFC, leaving few major MMA organizations under operation. Bellator has recently announced that they will be airing a reality show based on MMA, which Randy Couture will be featured as the coach on the inaugural season. Couture did the exact same thing when the UFC aired their inaugural television show, The Ultimate Fighter, coaching against fellow hall of famer, Chuck Lidell. 

For those of you not familiar with MMA, let me give you another analogy that might strike home a little better. What if the Canadian Football League signed Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? What if the National Basketball League Euro signed Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant? 

A lot more people are going to be tuning in to Spike TV, that's for sure. Will the UFC be hurt by this move at all? Not really. It is a somewhat awkward situation having one of your companies "founding fathers" helping to promote your number one competitor. How will it all pan out? Tune in to Spike TV to find out.

What it do?!

Hey everyone!

I want to start this blog off right by telling you a little bit about myself, and then what I will be addressing in this blog.

My name is Aaron Willis and I am a senior marketing major at the University of Northern Iowa. I am 22 years old and I come from the great town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In high school I was an accomplished swimmer that has turned to triathlons to quinch my thirst of competition. I'm an avid dog lover (dominately bulldogs and rhodesian ridgebacks) and I love to be outdoors.

One thing in particular that I am passionate about is the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). I'm a die hard fan of the UFC, Bellator and any other major organization.

I will be addressing in this blog will be about MMA and how it's relevant to sports marketing.Some of the topics will be:

• News and updates
• Fight announcements
• Fight analysis and breakdowns
• Implemented marketing techniques and breakdowns

I hope that you find this blog informative and interesting! Do yourself a favor and tune in sometime to get a first hand glimpse of a revolutionary sport, you wont regret it!


-Aaron Willis