Issue 107
November 2013
The UFC is planning to use mobile media, not television, as its main avenue for expanding into the African continent.
The Las Vegas promotion is currently laying the groundwork to enable people in sub-Saharan Africa to consume its fights and other programming via smartphone apps.
UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta made the plans known to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and noted the region, home to over 910 million people, engages with media in a very different way to the rest of the world.
“What we found is that over 90% of the way people consume entertainment in those markets is through mobile devices,” he told the newspaper.
As a result the UFC is sidestepping TV broadcast deals and focusing on agreements with mobile networks. However, TV remains a priority in South Africa where local promotion EFC Africa enjoys a profile just as high, if not higher, than the UFC.
With additional development in South and East Asia, as well as Latin America, Fertitta said that he expects international revenue to surpass that from the United States in the future. At the moment it accounts for around 40%.
2.5 billion
The UFC estimates around 2.5 billion people around the world have access to UFC programming on television.
Sportswear giant Adidas enters MMA market
Sports mega brand Adidas has officially entered the mixed martial arts landscape, picking up a sponsorship with UFC feeder league Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA).
Adidas Double D Martial Arts signed a multi-year deal with RFA, and is planning to launch a line of products.
Managing director Christophe Dessalles said: “We’re going to try to grow the sport of MMA. It’s a very young sport. And for me that’s one of my goals in the next five years, to try to work with Ed Soares at the RFA and the UFC and help grow the sport globally.
“There are some countries in Europe, such as France, where MMA is still not allowed. Hopefully, we can change that.”
Industry jobs
Who: Brad Kertson
Role: Coach at AMC Pankration, and senior business manager at Microsoft
Info: A martial artist for over 15 years, Microsoft manager Brad moonlights as an instructor at Matt Hume’s AMC Pankration
With dual roles as an MMA coach and manager at Microsoft, do you ever have Tyler Durden, Fight Club moments?
“Absolutely! It’s been one of those things where you have people you work with who love it and think it’s great; and then there are other times, when I was younger, that I had bad judgment and I’d go in and have a good, hard sparring session before flying to New York for a meeting,.and people would be asking what I was doing with a black eye.”
Is there one instance that particularly stands out?
“The worst one I ever had was years ago when I trained with Ivan Salaverry. He broke my arm when we were sparring one time, and I remember going into work and everyone asking what happened. I had to try to explain to somebody that I got my arm broken and, well, there is no good way to explain to someone how you got your arm broken during a sparring session.”
What is the single most amazing thing you’ve seen in the sport in the 15 years or so you’ve been involved?
“When I was in graduate school I did a presentation on MMA and the UFC, explaining how it was going to be the next billion-dollar business. So I guess I owe a big thank you to Dana White for proving me right. Today, the thing really blowing my mind is the sport has gotten so big it’s coming back toward being an entertainment business. Back in the early 2000s, if you lost a fight there was a very real chance you’d get cut. Now it’s more likely you’ll get cut for not being exciting enough. It’s crazy to see how big it’s got all over TV.”
3
A furniture chain allowed female UFC bantamweight Liz Carmouche to select three items from its range free of charge after representatives watching the Primetime show prior to her bout with Ronda Rousey saw she didn’t own a kitchen table.
Rallying/Crashed: The MMA business can be cruel and kind
Rallying: Fear The Fighter
Founded in 2008, in the past 12 months clothing company Fear The Fighter has elevated its profile and secured deals with big name fighters such as Frankie Edgar, Dan Hardy and Joe Lauzon. It’s also the official apparel provider for the Canadian Lacrosse League.
Crashed: The Gun Store
The Gun Store itself, a recreational shooting range in Las Vegas, is still alive and well, but its time on the shorts of UFC fighters was cut short when the promotion signed a deal with Fox. The network wouldn’t allow firearms-related ads on its broadcasts.
