Top-level fighters usually go through 3-4 months of hard and gut-wrenching training before a single fight. When all the work is said and done, the fight is always said to be the fun part. One way to marketing yourself to gain some fans is to give them something different. Yes, people who pay their hard earned money for a ticket want to see good fights, but when fighters go the extra mile and give the fans that, well, the fans love it.
Below are some of my favorite walkouts to MMA fights where the fighters had a little bit more fun.
Enjoy!
David Kaplan rocking the "Tenderness" by General Public.
James Te-Huna keeping it classy with the "Men in Black" theme.
Who let the dogs out? More like who let Tom Lawlor out?
Jason "Mayhem" Miller, the old host of Bully Beatdown definitely has some dance moves.
Oh hey look! More Tom Lawlor. This time he is doing his best impersonation of Apollo Creed.
On April 6, 2013 UFC newcomer Gegard Mousasi will lock horns with Alexander Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden.
This contest at 205 pounds will prove quite the impact for the UFC light-heavyweight title. With Jon Jones talking on Chael Sonnen at the end of the month, Alexander with a victory will all but be the number one contender. So let's take a closer look at this fight.
For those of you who don't know Gegard, he is coming into the UFC as a veteran sporting an impressive 33-3-2 record (18 knockouts, 11 submissions). He is one of many talents brought over from the now disassembled Strikeforce promotion.
Some of the things that Gegard has working for him are:
Experience (22 more fights than Alex)
Striking, he is considered one of the most technical strikers at 205 pounds
Slight edge in grappling
Underdog "X-Factor", you never know when an upset will happen
Now the Swedish countrymen Alexander has a few more things in his favor which include:
Fighting in front of a "hometown" base in Sweden (his native country)
Having fought arguably much more difficult competition in the UFC
Height and reach advantage at being 6'4 (Gegard is only 6'1)
With those things being said, here is how I think the fight will play out.
Expect the fight to remain standing dominantly. This will be a striking chess match to see how makes the first mistake. I can't see this fight ending with a finish due to the durability and youth of both fighters, especially when so much is on the line. Expect it to go all 5 rounds. Either man is capable of submitting or knocking the other one out, and it literally could happen at anytime.
If Alexander fights tall and uses his reach, he can win a hard fought decision or get a late stoppage. If Alexander starts to brawl with Gegard, expect Gegard to capitalize and get the finish. With all of the Strikeforce fighters now in the UFC, and winning in dominating fashion, I don't believe this fight could be any harder to predict.
Alexander will win via decision.
Hope this has boosted your interest a little and be sure to tune in on Fuel-TV next weekend. Enjoy!
I'm sorry, but this was too good to pass up on. ESPN did a story on a 23 year-old MMA fighter, Garrett Hoelve. Let's take a break from business to just appreciate something wonderful.
Garrett is truly an inspiration. This is not just another "overcoming the handicap" story in sports. Mixed martial arts or any other combat sport for that matter, is truly one of its own. This young man's courage is truly something to be envious of.
"I will never back down from a fight. I will keep going." -Garrett Hoelve
That is truly what this sport is about.
So the next time you feel like you can't get that last lift in your workout, can't stay up any longer studying for a test, can't overcome a drug addiction or depression, keep going.
I've said it every time, you won't be sorry you did.
That is one of the most important tools that you can have on your side in today's advertising world. I have mentioned selling a fight before with the trash-talking kingpin, Chael Sonnen, but I have yet to discuss selling the fight by means of social media.
There are two ways to get the fights you want if you are a fighter, which are:
Defeating your opponents and letting them come naturally, in due time.
Calling them out (challenging them).
What happens if you try both of these and you still can't get the opponent you want? You and your fans "twitter-bomb" the ever-loving crap out of your boss, Dana White, and demand the fight. Dana has stated several times on record, that if the people want to see it, then they will get it.
Sometimes the fights don't necessarily have to make sense, but just set up to please the fans. I mean, we are the ones buying the pay-per-views, am I right?
Mark Hunt celebrating his first win in the UFC at UFC 127
Let me introduce you to Mark Hunt. This 38 year-old (soon to be 39) is a world renown kickboxing champion and MMA fighter from the legendary organization of Pride. He now fights in the UFC in their heavyweight division. Making his UFC debut in 2010 with a record of 5 wins and 6 losses (an absolutely awful record) he was defeated in a little over a minute by Sean McCorkle to further his record to 5-7. Literally the only reason he was fighting in the UFC is because they (UFC) were legally obligated to either pay him his contract amount from Pride (which the UFC purchased) or to give him his fights left on the contract. Well, Mark Hunt took another fight in the UFC.
Since that loss in 2010, Mark Hunt has won four in a row with three via knockout. Now let me get to the social media part.
With a record of 9-7, it doesn't necessarily scream "title shot". The fans love him. He's old school, he puts on entertaining fights, he has a great personality and the list goes on and on.
In 2012, Alistair Overeem was suspended before his title fight with now former champ Junior Dos Santos. With a very short time frame to find a replacement, Dana White was scrambling for one. Mark Hunt's fans "twitter-bombed" Dana attempting to give an unwarranted shot to Hunt (they used this article's title as the twitter handle). Dana stood strong saying the fight didn't make sense at the time and Hunt was denied.
Well its 2013 and guess was? Alistair Overeem is out of his already rescheduled bout with Junior Dos Santos due to an injury. Hey Dana, I think you know who should get the fight this time. Below is a fan made video that was tweeted to Dana that almost swayed him into giving him the shot the first time.
If you are a fan of MMA, or if you simply just read this blog for shits and giggles, please tweet @danawhite saying "make it happen!" using the twitter handle #RallyForMarkHunt .
This is as close to a real Rocky Balboa story that we will ever get.
Have you ever wondered who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman? The answer is you probably don't care. If you are under the age of 7, you might.
Georges St. Pierre (left) and Anderson Silva (right) have
all but been willing to fight.
What I am talking about is that if a fight is conjured up in someone's fantasy beginning with the phrase "what if, chances are it has the potential to be epic. It's not a regular fight, its a super-fight.
The idea of the champion defending his/her title in MMA against the number one contender will always be able to sell. Sometimes when you have a champion that is so dominant in their division, you will begin to look elsewhere for possible match-ups. This is where the fans will begin to think, "hey, maybe we should have a super-fight between champs".
When you have a champion vs. champion fight, there will only be one outcome. That outcome is that an arena will be sold out, event merchandise will be selling in high quantities and pay-per-view numbers will be through the roof.
Let me introduce you to Georges St. Pierre (GSP), Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. They are the current and reigning defending UFC champions in the welterweight (170), middleweight (185) and light-heavyweight (205) respectively. No one in their divisions have been able to beat them or come close to it. Now there are two super-fights to be made, GSP versus Silva or Silva versus Jones. Now here is the problem.
NONE OF THEM WANT TO FIGHT EACH OTHER!!!!!!!!!
It is very rare that opportunities like these come around for fans. The UFC president Dana White wants nothing more than to set these fights up. He has also been hinting that he is close to signing the Silva/Jones fight.
On March 16th, GSP will fight Nick Diaz in what would've been a super-fight in 2011. Unfortunately Diaz suffered a loss and a drug suspension since then. It still will do great numbers, but the mystique of the "champion versus champion" is gone. Check out a preview below. Don't get me wrong, I will definitely be tuning in.
Hey Georges, Anderson and Jon, let me give you a word of advice. Sign the damn contracts. Your bank accounts won't be sorry you did.
That is the target market for MMA. Dana white, president of the UFC believes it isn't anymore. Well at least he's going to try to change it and here's how.
2008 olympic judo medalist, Ronda Rousey is the face of women's MMA. She has completely steam-rolled all of her opponents defeating all six of her opponents in the first round (five of them in under one minute). Her last four bouts took place in the now defunct Strikeforce promotion. Strikeforce has recently been shut down and target contracts have been moved over.
Ronda Rousey (Above)
Photo courtesy of bleacherreport.com
Her contract existing in Strikeforce and the fact there was no women's division in the UFC, gave Dana White a unique opportunity. Dana has the chance to bring women's MMA mainstream.
Whether you are for women's equality or against them fighting in the cage, its going to happen whether you like it or not.
Ronda Rousey will square off against Liz Carmouche in San Jose on February 23rd at UFC 157. Not only they are going to fight, they are the main event.
How will this business move play out? Only time will tell. My best guess is that women's MMA will eventually catch on just like the sport itself did. It will be slow at first, but it will "get there". Expanding the target means one thing. More money.
On February 23rd, get some friends and grab a beer at your local Buffalo Wild Wings and watch some fights. Below is a trailer for UFC 157.
Everyone loves the "behind the scenes" bonus features on their favorite DVD's. It's no different for sports. Every fan wants to see their favorite athlete when they aren't in the spotlight of their profession.
Everyone knows what goes on after a football game, after a baseball game, etc. Do people know what its like after a professional fight? Probably not. The UFC does a great job of doing video blogs of behind the scenes action at their live events that really shows the highs and lows of the pre and post-fight atmosphere and antics. The MFC's (Maximum Fighting Championships, a canadian based promotion) president Mark Pavelich also does a great job of voicing his thoughts on the current events of MMA and also advertising his upcoming events.
In my honest opinion. If you are not doing these video blogs, you are missing out. Casual fans simply can't invest in your fighters as much as they possibly could. Things like these video blogs could mean the difference from being at 85-90% capacity to being sold out. If people see, understand and get a feeling from the promotion from behind the curtains, they can truly invest in the promotion.
If you are or aren't a fight fan, check out the video below to just get a feel for the behind the scenes action. If it interest's you, do a web search for an upcoming MMA show in a town near you.
I promise like I have before, you won't be disappointed you did.
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:
Their performances
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.
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.
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.
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!
