Reasons for UFC Marketing Success

There are several reasons why the UFC is so successful and still growing in the sports world today.  The way they market each event is the reason they are taking over the MMA market and spreading around the world.  Five reasons why the UFC is so successful in marketing their events are: they know their audience or target market, they promise and deliver on unbelievable experiences, they plan ahead and prepare for future events, they use superstars in their advertising, and opportunity to become like a superstar.

The UFC does an excellent job of knowing their audience and catoring to their needs and wants.  The hardcore fans are the ones that bring in the "big bucks" and are the ones the marketing department needs to keep happy.  The UFC fan expo, which is put on before every UFC event, is one of the best marketing strategies that keep the hardcore fans happy.  Thus, by keeping the many loyal fans happy and entertained, the UFC is guaranteed to be successful for many years to come.

One of the best marketing strategies used by the UFC is that they just don't put on fights, but they create an unforgettable experience for the entire crowd.  For example, the UFC puts some of their star fighters, who are not fighting in that particular event, among the crowd for the fans to take pictures with and to enhance the UFC experience.  This, among other things, make the live UFC experience one that is coveted by all the fans around the world.

A very important aspect of marketing is that the UFC is always prepared for future events even before one event finishes.  There is never a dull moment between events, which is also a big reason why the UFC is so successful.  For example, before UFC 129 happened the UFC had already planned a UFC 130, 131, and 132, plus a UFC fight night and The Ultimate Fighter Season Finale.  These events are not only already planned, but are already being marketed.  Therefore, with no awkward period where there is nothing going on, the UFC can be very successful.  Having their events planned so far in advance, increases anticipation and more time to market.  These are all pluses for the UFC organization.

Another way the UFC markets their events is through their fighters.  They show the most popular fighters in their television ads and on the posters that are placed at restaurants that are showing the fights.  By showing the most popular fighters on the big screen and by doing tributes for retired and legendary fighters in the sport, the UFC is able to market their events even better.  Therefore, the UFC uses their fighters to advertise and market their events and is one of the reasons they are so successful.

The final reason for the UFC's success in marketing their events is because of the individuality of the fighters and the merchandise sold.  The majority of the audience is wearing a shirt with their favourite fighters on it and sporting haircuts and other types of apparel that their favourite fighters wear.  This is very important because it makes the fans feel like they are a superstar.  If the fans are comfortable and feel good about themselves, then the UFC is going to have a successful event.  For example, Fans sport Chuck Liddell mohawks and and GSP head bans because they want to be like their favourite fighters.  This aspect is key in the UFC's marketing plan.

Therefore, the UFC is so successful in marketing their events because they do these five things so well and by doing these things, it allows for the continuing growth in popularity of the UFC.  Thus, a combination of high fan interest in the sport and these five marketing strategies, is the reason for the success of the UFC. http://www.ufc.com/  This link is where all the magic happens and it has all the information you need on upcoming events and so much more.

UFC 129 Toronto!

UFC 129 took place on April 30th 2011 and was the biggest UFC event in the history of the organization.  Marketing for this event was easily done for several reasons.  UFC fans in Toronto have been waiting a long time for a UFC event to come to their city.  The anticipation and overflowing interest in having a live UFC event in Toronto alone was one of the reasons it was so successful.  On top of that, Dana White and the UFC put two title fights on the card which increased the already high interest in attending this event.  Not to mention that both title fights held Canadians, George St. Pierre and Mark Hominick, which also gained the interest of UFC fans.  The fact that this was the first UFC event in Toronto was a huge deal because fans had been waiting for this to happen for years.  Tickets sold out in record time and the Roger's Centre held a record 55 000 people in attendance.  Those facts alone prove that this event was well marketed to a very excited and anxious fan base.  Also Dana White said that things in this event were not going to be the same as previous events because it catered to a much larger audience.  This unknown factor of the event also helped with marketing because people wanted to buy tickets, not only to see an excellent selection of fights but, to experience the new and improved atmosphere of this first UFC event in Toronto.   Because it was such a large audience and the first event to ever be held in a stadium, several extra jumbo trons were placed around the stadium to make the experience more enjoyable for the fans sitting far away from the octagon.

In the end the event was a success, due to successful marketing to a very anxious audience who were more than willing to buy tickets to this new and improved UFC event in Toronto.  http://youtu.be/Rr4_1DxAeNo  This link shows the revenues, Dana White's opinion on the success of the event, and other facts that support the success of UFC 129.  Therefore, through marketing the idea of a new and improved UFC event in a stadium for the first time in Ontario, the UFC and Dana White were successful in putting on the first UFC event in Toronto, Ontario.

New Light Heavyweight Champion Crowned at UFC 128

Jon 'Bones' Jones is the new breed of fighter that is entering into MMA, resulting in even more interest in the UFC.  A fighter like Jones can do wonders for the UFC and make marketing a UFC event very easy.  At just 23 years old, Jones has beaten a legend Mauricio Rua in dominating fashion to become the 205lbs champion. He had his way with Rua in the fight and seems unstoppable.  I do not see him being beaten in the near future because of his extremely long reach, which no other fighter in his weight division can match, his speed, unpredictable strikes, and amazing wrestling.  I believe that one day Jones will be regarded as one of the best pound for pound fighters in MMA.

The way he dictated where the fight was going and took almost no damage against a fighter who destroyed the seemingly unbeatable Lyoto Machida was so impressive that I am predicting that Jones will reign the Light Heavyweight Champion for a long time.  I can even see Jones beating Anderson Silva, a man who has owned the middleweight divison for years.  If Silva decides to take a fight at 205lbs against Jones, I strongly believe Jones would beat him in a convincing manner.  A fight like Silva vs Jones would promote itself because those are the two most exciting fighters in the sport, but any fight with Jon Jones will market itself and bring in enormous profits for the UFC. 

I believe the Jones is now a top 5 fighter in all of MMA and is scheduled to defend his newly won title against former champion and training partner, Rashad Evans which will be one of the most easily promoted fights in UFC history.  With an exciting, young, talented, unorthodox, and well-rounded fighter like Jones and a future hall of famer like Rashad Evans as the main event on a UFC fight card, you can be very certain that it will be an extremely successful event.  I am a huge Rashad fan, but after seeing Jones Destroy Rua I think Jones will defeat Rashad in impressive fashion.  Jones is still very young but I believe he has Rashad beat in the stand-up and on the ground.  I predict a 3rd round Knockout victory for Jon Jones and I also predict that Jones will go down in history as one of the best fighters of all-time.

All in all, I believe Jones is a marketing dream for the UFC and is the bigger and stronger version of Anderson Silva.  The scary thing is that Jones has yet to reach his full potential and is still not as good as he can be.  I think he is already one of the best fighters in the sport and has already accomplished more than most fighters accomplish in a whole career.  I believe he is unbeatable right now, just imagine how could he will be in his prime.  I am so excited to watch this fighter grow and dominate the light heavyweight division.  I see big things in his future and I see some very successful events for the UFC in their future.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KVC409Q9M   This video sums up the domination displayed by Jones in the championship fight.  The full fight is available at http://www.mma-core.com/

UFC 126 Review

UFC126 was held on Feb. 5th, 2011 and had the potential to be an excellent series of fights.  The main event was a highly anticipated middleweight fight that featured Anderson Silva, who holds the record for most title defences in UFC history with nine.  In the lead up to the fight, the fighter’s bad blood and heated stare down at the weigh-ins helped promote the fight.  Some say Silva is the best pound for pound fighter in the world, I say he is at the top for sure, but George St. Pierre and Jose Aldo are also worthy of that title.  Anyway, Anderson was set to fight Vitor Belfort, who is known as the "phenom" and for having the fastest hands in UFC history.  On paper the fight was close but the odds were in favour of the champion.  I honestly thought that Belfort was going to win because he throws punches in bunches and even someone as elusive as Silva cannot avoid nine or ten punches in a row from one of the fastest punchers in the sport.  I also thought that if Belfort was going to lose it was going to be because Anderson would catch him coming in, but the fight ended very surprisingly.  History was made in the finish of this fight.  I was astonished by it because Silva knocked Belfort out in the first round with a front kick.  Nobody has ever knocked another fighter out in any combat sport with a front kick.  I was sceptical of Anderson Silva because of his prior disappointing performances against Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, and Thales Leites.  He won those fights, but he was cocky, got dominated, and did not look like the Anderson Silva that the fans had become used to seeing.  After this fight, the old Silva is back and in a big way.  This means that any card Silva is on will make promotion of the event very easy because he is such an unpredictable and exciting fighter to watch.  Whoever he fights next is in for a huge challenge.

As for the rest of the card, I was disappointed in the performance of Miguel Angel Torres, who is known for being a very exciting fighter, who fans love to watch.  He won the fight but it was boring and very unlike him.  The new 135lbs division, along with the 145lbs division, that just recently was added to the UFC from the WEC was represented very poorly by this fight.  These weight divisions are usually the most exciting to watch and bring more fans to the UFC, further expanding their fan base.  

A lot of the fights were not very exciting to the casual fan, but surprisingly they were not even that exciting to me and as a devoted and fairly knowledgeable fan of the sport, I too was disappointed with a few of the fights.  In the end the event was successful because of strong promotion by the fighters.

Finally, I think the fight that got the most attention in the end, was the fight between Ryan Bader and Jon Jones (see above) in the light heavyweight division.  Two of the best rising stars in all of MMA fought to boost themselves into the top 5 in the division.  The winner, Jon Jones, who is one of the most exciting and unorthodox fighters in the sport who also makes promotion very easy because of his fighting style, was given a title shot against Mauricio Rua at UFC 128 because the number one contender Rashad Evans is out with a knee injury.  The news was delivered to Jones right after his impressive win over Bader.  I believe this young fighter is improving rapidly and has the ability to become the champion one day.  Is this too soon? I believe that Jones can pull off the upset over shogun, but we are talking about one of the best and most experienced fighters in the world, a man who destroyed former champions Lyoto Machida and Chuck Liddell.  You can be sure of one thing, that Jones will be prepared after a great training camp with Greg Jackson and he will put up a great fight and maybe pull of the upset and become champion at such a young age.  My pick: Jones over Rua in a 4th round TKO.  Thanks for reading and that is my review on UFC 126.  The promotion by the fighters and by the UFC was extremely successful because the event sold out and some very exciting things happened during the event as well.  2011 looks very promising for the UFC and we should have some very exciting and legendary fights coming up in the near future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyNzIw4lEwk  First ever knockout by a Front Kick