About MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA), popularly known as cage fighting or ultimate fighting is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques and skills, from a mixture of martial arts traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of both striking as well as grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground. Such competitions allow martial artists of different backgrounds to compete.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American MMA promotion company that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the world and produces numerous events worldwide. The UFC has seven weight-divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC; Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control its parent company, Zuffa, LLC.
The MMA environment consists of a few other MMA promotion companies such as Broke, King of the Cage (KOTC), Cage Rage, Strikeforce MMA, and HDNet Fights. These companies also offer pay-per-view shows but are extremely opaque in popularity when compared to the UFC.
UFC has become the fastest-growing sports organisation in history. UFC is a diversified media and entertainment platform, including pay-per-view, wireless, internet, electronic gaming and merchandising. It also has a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter, with over three and a half million fans, second in US sports only to basketball. UFC television content is broadcast in 147 countries in 19 different languages and reaches almost half a billion households worldwide.
The UFC Magazine has become one of the fastest-growing men’s titles in the world and represents the print bible of the UFC organisation. It has become America’s top men’s news stand seller since its launch in 2009, outselling long established titles such as Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Men’s Journal and Details.
The UFC brand also includes The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality TV series which has been running for a record 13 seasons, making it the world’s longest running sports reality show.
MMA in Australia
The popularity of MMA in Australia has continued to explode, with Australia becoming one of the top four markets in the world. Australia now holds the record for the fastest ticket sell-out in company history, with tickets sold in half an hour for the 2011 UFC 127 event.
The UFC’s previous invasion into Sydney (2010 UFC 110) set box office records and sold out within two hours. UFC 110 remains the fourth fastest UFC sell-out ever, meaning two of the top four best selling UFC events have been hosted by Australia. Data from Ticketek, showed that one third of the 17,931-strong audience were female, while almost half of fans in attendance travelled interstate for the show.
It was also estimated that the UFC 110 event drew a live gate of $2.5 million, which made it one of the year’s most successful MMA events anywhere in the world. The event also broke the UFC’s single-night merchandise-sales record.
UFC president, Dana White, continuously comments on how passionate and educated the Australian crowd is about the intricacies of the sport, especially the ground game. This knowledgeable fan base has lead to the UFC considering Australia for one of its upcoming international editions of TUF on Spike TV (foxtel).
While cage fighting is currently prohibited in Melbourne, it is only a matter of time until the continued recognition of the sport leads to government approval.
References:
UFC Magazine Australia
UFC 127 Sold Out!
UFC Website Viewer Stats
UFC Considering Melbourne Event
