Issue 023

March 2007

Our next leading man could be the cause of many an argument between husband and wife, and partners alike. He is responsible for men around the UK getting into trouble late in the evening from lonely wives and girlfriends, a scenario that Christian O’Connell, the BBC Radio 5 Live DJ and TV presenter once described as ‘having his girlfriend come downstairs in the early hours of the morning to find him in sprawled on the sofa wearing only his underpants watching two muscular men wearing lycra shorts rolling around on the floor!’ He could also be described as being a major factor in the growth of exposure for MMA in the UK by being instrumental in the airing of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on our televisions.  

Richard Dennis, owner and founder of sports marketing agency RDA Communications, is the man we need to thank for helping establish the sport we love on mainstream television. His company was established 12 years ago, enabling him to gain experience with broadcasters, pay per view and live events as well as merchandising and licensing, skills which served him well when he first encountered the phenomenon of the UFC. 

With a heritage built around the WWF wrestling and a lover of combat sports, Richard knew that there was a televisual void appealing to a specific audience out there just waiting to be filled, and he thought that mixed martial arts was the sport to do it. “I felt there was a gap in the UK television market for a fight sport, similar to WWE but not boxing. The Ultimate Fighting Championship fit this role perfectly.” 

His foresight made him approach Sky Sports back in 2001, that prompted both companies to embark on a trip together to Las Vegas to watch a UFC event at the Mandalay Bay. It was on this trip that Richard first met with Dana White and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. After initial discussions and meetings between all parties Sky agreed to UFC programming, airing the first pay per view event in the UK, the memorable UFC 38 ‘Brawl in the Hall’.  

Despite good viewing figures and a sell out attendance for the live event, UFC shows at this time failed to move forward on TV. “I think it was too early in the evolution of the UFC to have the impact it has now,” stated Dennis, who despite the initial result still believed wholeheartedly in the sport doing well on TV. 

RDA subsequently went on to establish three more pay per view deals in the UK with the UFC and television company Setanta. Perfectly positioned to take things forward with both companies he started to work on his belief that in order to expand the knowledge of the sport and to capture a much greater interest, the airing of the events should be free.  

Using his contacts and relationships within the Bravo Channel, he pitched the concept of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as being the perfect 11pm programming for a station whose target demographic is almost exclusively young men. On an initial agreement of the licensing of 18 hours of footage the UFC was an instant hit with viewers and Bravo now license thousands of hours worth of footage (including the airing of live pay per view events from the US the following evening) for free.

In 2005 RDA were instrumental in the securing of The Ultimate Fighter reality show for Bravo and were partly responsible for the influx of British fighters into series three of the show. Not only did they organise the London trials, but they also sent eight UK fighters to Las Vegas for further auditions, ultimately resulting in now-UFC stars Mike Bisping and Ross Pointon being chosen. That Bisping won the whole thing is nothing more than the perfect scenario for Richard, who firmly believes that the growth of talent in the UK could eventually result in the biggest star in the UFC being a Brit. With fighters like Mike Bisping, who can deny such a statement?  

Richard Dennis and his company RDA struggled for a long time to get UFC on TV and with hard work and the help of Bravo they have succeeded to the point that this has now spurred other TV channels to follow suit, not only with UFC events but also home grown UK shows getting the chance to showcase the skill and talent of our fighters. This coverage will inevitably allow our sport to grow and for this we believe Richard to be a true ‘Leading Man’.  

Web: www.rda.tv