MMA Universe

The UFC was shutout for the 2nd straight year in Bloomberg Businessweek’s Top Power 100 Sports Ranking. Notably, boxers Manny Pacquiao (28) and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (49) were on the list.

Drew Brees edged out Aaron Rodgers for the top spot this year. Brock Lesnar and Fedor made it on the list in 2010. The list is based on an athlete’s performance, popularity and marketability.

Last year’s top spot, Peyton Manning, fell to 51st on the list. Lance Armstrong, No. 8 on the list last year, fell off the list completely as he announced his retirement last February. Despite retiring, Shaquille O’Neal remained No. 7 on the list.

Payout Perspective:

Will there be a UFC fighter on this list next year? Certainly, Jon Jones and Georges St. Pierre would be the two names that would come to mind when it comes to the criteria. Jones would be more likely to make the mainstream jump this year consdering GSP’s injury. A combination of Jones’ personality, his athletic ability and the UFC’s visibility through the Fox deal should help land Jones on this list.

UFC 139’s weigh-ins last night provided some comic relief and three overweight fighters in preparation for tonight’s PPV. With some of the weigh-in comedy, one wonders whether the weigh-ins are now a place to work on fighters’ personal branding.

Remember when putting on a Jabawockeez mask to intimidate your opponent at the weigh-ins caused a near riot? It seems like the weigh-ins are becoming much more entertaining than just that.

Here are some highlights from yesterday:

-Danny Castillo wearing a tux which you could zip off from the back scored major points in the creativity department
-Tom Lawlor going Steven Seagal (shooting glasses and all). He also did his best Baron Von Raschke impression during the staredown as he gave the infamous claw. He also sported an XBox 360 shirt. In speaking with an XBox rep, Xbox is sponsoring Lawlor for its launch of the Kinect Sports 2. Demetrious Johnson remains as the only UFC fighter to be exclusively sponsored by XBox.
-Kyle Kingsbury and Stephan Bonnar hammed it up with a WWE-type posedown on the scales. With his patented fanny pack, Kingsbury is Zubaz and doo-rag away from being a 1980s wrestler from the Mid-South region.
-I’m not sure why more t-shirt sponsors of fighters allow the sponsored fighter to throw out free shirts to the crowd at weigh-ins. It gets your brand out there to the fans with the hopes of them coming back to purchase shirts. Of course the other side of that is the crowd is a considerable distance from the fighters. Thus, you get the Rick Story problem as he was unable to reach the crowd with some of his t-shirt throws. Since the NBA is out for some time, could the UFC borrow some of those t-shirt cannons to shoot out into the audience?
-Was Nick Pace confused in what division he was fighting in? Six pounds over really means that he should fight at 145 not 135.

Payout Perspective:

The weigh-ins seemed unorganized in terms of the actual weigh in. Whether there were issues with the scale or operator error, the weigh-ins seemed much more of an issue. Even though there were several fighters overweight, it usually doesn’t stop the pace of the weigh-ins. Also, it didn’t seem like the woman operating the scale knew about the one pound weight allowance as she grimaced each time she had to move the scale.

Similar to how the UFC wants its fighters to use twitter as a way to market themselves, the weigh-ins seem like an opportunity for fighters to promote themselves as well. Yes, the weigh-ins are usually something people pass over as its just guys getting on a scale. But, with a little more personality, it could be something that can be capitalized on in the future.

Anderson Silva stars in a Ford commercial in Brazil. The Spider does not speak in the commercial but is proving to be an identifiable spokesperson.

(H/t: Cage Potato)

Payout Perspective:

With the UFC Brazilian market growing, it looks like Silva is taking advantage of all the publicity. As we’ve seen, Silva is drawing many mainstream sponsor and his face is becoming more and more identifiable. This is a good thing for Silva personally and could prove to open up mainstream sponsor deals for other UFC fighters (e.g. Junior dos Santos).

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FOX Sports Media Group Chairman David Hill, FOX Sports Co-President Eric Shanks & FUELTV General Manager George Greenberg joined forces with UFC President Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta earlier today to preview coverage of the first ever UFC heavyweight title bout on network television between defending champion Cain Velasquez and No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos.

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This historic bout airs LIVE exclusively on FOX Saturday, November, 12 (9:00 PM ET).   FUELTV airs the LIVE weigh-in on Friday, November 11 (7:00 PM ET) and a two-hour special prefight show Saturday, November 12 (7:00 PM ET) featuring analysis from a champions’ roundtable and exclusive interviews from the red carpet arrivals of celebrities and athletes attending the historic fight.

Saturday, Nov. 12:
3:00 p.m. ET — Cain Velasquez: Brown Pride, episodes 1-3 on FOX Deportes
4:45 p.m. ET — UFC on FOX prelims live on Facebook and FOXSports.com
5:30 p.m. ET — Weigh-ins re-air on FUEL TV
6:00 p.m. ET — UFC Primetime re-air on FUEL TV
6:00 p.m. ET — Re-air of Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar on FOX Deportes
7:00 p.m. ET — UFC prelims live on FOX Deportes
7:00 p.m. ET — Pre-fight show on FUEL TV, hosted by Glazer, along w/ Kenny Florian & Stephan Bonnar
9:00 p.m. ET — UFC on FOX broadcast, hosted by Curt Menefee, along with Dana White, Brock Lesnar & Joe Rogan. Mike Goldberg and Rogan will call the heavyweight title fight.
10 p.m. ET — UFC on FOX post-fight show on FUEL TV, hosted by Glazer, along with Florian and Bonnar

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Saturday’s UFC on FOX Red Carpet Celebrity List:

FOX
Michael Strahan (FOX NFL SUNDAY)
Howie Long (FOX NFL SUNDAY)
Odette Annable (House)
Harry Shum, Jr. (Glee)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)
Howie Mandel (Mobbed)
Max Greenfield (New Girl)
Jake Johnson (New Girl)
Lamorne Morris (New Girl)
Hannah Simone (New Girl – pictured)
Jesse Spencer (House)

FX
Joelle Carter (Justified)
Walton Goggins (Justified)
Nick Searcy (Justified)
Nick Kroll (The League)
Dayton Callie (Sons of Anarchy)
Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy)
Dorian Brown (Wilfred)
Jason Gann (Wilfred)
Fiona Gubelmann (Wilfred)

FUELTV
Danny Kass (Adventures of Danny & The Dingo)
Luke Trembath (Adventures of Danny & The Dingo)
Bas Rutten (Punk Payback with Bas Rutten)
Mike “Rooftop” Escamilla (Strangers in Danger)
Zack “Catfish” Yankush (Strangers in Danger)
Charlie Andrews (Knights of Mayhem)

SPORTS
Jim Brown (NFL Legend – pictured)
Brad Penny (MLB pitcher)
Kelly Slater (Professional Surfer)

FILM, MUSIC & TELEVISION
Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters)
David Arquette
Travis Barker
Gina Carano (Haywire)
Claire Coffee (Grimm)
Ryan Guzman (Step Up)
Gilles Marini (Brothers & Sisters)
Nicole Murphy (Model)
Ronnie Mund (The Howard Stern Show)
Amanda Righetti (The Mentalist)
Mickey Rourke (Immortals)
Matt Sanders (Avenged Sevenfold)
Karina Smirnoff (Dancing with the Stars)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Nick Swardson (Jack and Jill)
Kenny Wormald (Footloose)
Neon Trees

UFC
Michael Bisping
Carlos Condit
Dominick Cruz
Chuck Liddell
Gilbert Melendez
George St. Pierre
Brian Stann

Link: Yahoo Sports

Not only will the UFC be holding a big event Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao takes on Juan Manuel Marquez. The Toronto Star looks at the Manny Pacquiao brand and asks whether it has plateaued.

Earlier this year, Pacquiao and Top Rank consolidated his marketing team to focus on securing endorsements. Team Pacquiao and Top Rank   hired Lucia McKelvey as his deal agent. McKelvey previously represented Tiger Woods.

Since the realignment, Pacquiao has signed deals with HP and State Street Produce. Recently, he signed a $1 year, $1 million endorsement deal with Hennessy.

McKelvey touts Pacquiao as a likeable, global brand. He ranks 24th in BusinessWeek’s power rankings of most influential athletes but there is skepticism that the fighter may have reached the top of his marketing potential.

Via Star.com:

Pacquiao rose 51 spots in BusinessWeek’s power rankings over the previous year but analyst David Newman, who helped prepare the report, questions how much higher Pacquiao can climb.

“He’s really close to the top of his peak,” says Newman, VP of analytics at CSE, an Atlanta-based sports and entertainment marketing firm. “The life cycle of a boxer is not long.”

McKelvey, meanwhile, doesn’t see Pacquiao’s marketability leveling off, and estimates the fighter could earn up to $50 million outside the ring.

Bad Left Hook offers this:

…I would have to guess that his time as a high-level pitchman could be drawing to a close. The lack of a Mayweather fight (like it or not, that’s the bigger breakthrough that still hasn’t happened) and the fact that Manny’s planning to retire after 2013 are both ominous signs. Without boxing, he’ll still have some offers, but he’s probably not going to be Michael Jordan, endorsing Nike and Hanes forever.

Payout Perspective:

The article presents an interesting question on the Manny Pacquiao brand. It is also an example of what happens when an athlete does not have appropriate business representation. Pacquiao is getting endorsement deals now, but you have to wonder how much he could have earned. Pacquiao is definitely reaping the rewards of his success and a mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather could land bigger deals for Pacquiao.

MMA Payout had the opportunity to speak with the owners of CageHero, Mark Mastrandrea and Ian Parker as it recently re-branded itself focusing its business to target kids. Once a sponsor of fighters in the octagon, it has a new web site, a new clothing line and its CageHero Kids Team.

“We feel we can be the brand that really brings that innocent image to MMA- help it go mainstream,” said Mastrandrea, “We are re-branding to further target the kids. We feel there is a real need for a new generations Superhero.”

MP: When did Cagehero decide to target kids? What was the basis of your decision? Did you do any market research or look at trends to target a younger demographic?

CH: With the characters we have developed, we knew kids were always the ultimate destination.
We felt the need to educate the decision maker first. The 18-34 Male demo is the target everyone looks too, but we knew the increase in women’s interest-both as participants, and consumers in MMA was important too.  Both parents- the mother and father buy the kids their clothing.  When we looked at the numbers, we also found that the Youth Apparel Market is actually bigger then the Men’s Apparel Market.

MP: How did you find the kids to be in the commercial?

CH: It started with Stevo- the mohawked wrestling YouTube sensation.  When we saw his video on YouTube, it made both of us smile, laugh and really remember the days of Youth Sports. Days later we traveled to see him at a tournament to meet him, and his parents-the family were great people.  We then thought of the concept of the Cagehero Kids Team-  a compilation of the world’s best youth athletes across the world promoting there respective youth combat sports.    We checked out some kids in Vegas, California and then received some help from our friends over at Youth1.com.  In the past 2 days we have received almost 100 emails of new kids applying for the team.

MP: Are you still sponsoring MMA fighters? If so, who. Are they mostly in Bellator? I see that Ben Askren was in the commercial. Is he still sponsored?

CH: As far as the stereotypical MMA Marketing, walking out wearing our logo- Ben Askren is the only fighter in either Bellator/UFC that we will be marketing.  Ben is a great guy who really embodies our brand.  He also deals directly with kids, owning the Askren Brothers Wrestling Academy.  We do some outside signings/appearances with UFC guys, but for the time being we only “sponsor” in Bellator.

MP: How have/will the marketing efforts change as a result of the re-branding?

CH: We will continue to market in MMA-Bellator for now.  We have begun a stronger push with the Kids Marketing with Videos and a number of strategic partnerships with Youth-focused companies.  We are also starting to focus more on a grassroots level with a presence at Youth Wrestling Tournaments and BJJ Competitions.

MP: Are there any concerns that kids may be too young for MMA?

CH: When we started this company, we knew we were investing in the sport of MMA.  We’re passionate about it, and believe that one day it will be the largest sport in the world with acceptance by people of all cultures/ages.  With the UFC on Fox Deal, the recent Bellator-Viacom deal and the constant penetration of new markets- we think it’s only a matter of time.  Like Dana always says “Fighting is our DNA- we get it, we like it.”  Our brand will always have MMA roots.  It directly ties in with our characters as well.
Our Theory:
-In the 80′s the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles took over, representing the fictional art of “Ninjitsu”
-In the 90s- the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with martial arts/Gymnastics.
We are the new Superhero, with ties to Mixed Martial Arts- the new martial art.

MP: How will you try to bring MMA mainstream?

CH: We are trying to bring MMA Mainstream through the Kid’s Team, the characters and the message.  Some people, even if educated, are ignorant to the sport.  When you align it with Kids, Superheroes and a message like “The Hero Comes From Within”- it definitely puts the sport in a more innocent light.

Our full length script and artwork with our finalized characters is also completed.  We are currently taking it to market and attaching the proper people.

MP: What are the future plans for the brand?

CH:  The future plans for the brand is to further develop the Cagehero Kid’s Team with athletes throughout the world.  We are doing our first Youth Combine with Youth1, Ben Askren and some surprise UFC guests in the upcoming months.  Keeping the same comic book aesthetic.  As far as the Adults, we will continue to market in Bellator, and always keep our eyes open if the opportunity is right to go to the UFC. Our new adult line is more geared towards inspirational lifestyle apparel.  The Big Picture remains the same:  A comic book, a movie.  Become this generations Superhero.

Payout Perspective:

CageHero is a unique brand and based on its designs, it was poised to make an easy transition from the young male target demographic to the kids demographic. This is partly due to the comic book designs and partly due to its positive messaging. Certainly, the way the brand is positioning itself in the market, it seems like the most kid-friendly, parent approved brand to wear as opposed to the more adult-themed shirts from other brands.

The Strikeforce merger with UFC may have muted a portion of its fighters due to the UFC sponsor fee. Although it says that it may make a return, the brand has found another way to market itself within the MMA industry. Through outreach and visibility at youth wrestling and grappling tournaments and continutng its sponsorship of Ben Askren, it is making all the right moves in targeting youth with its new campaign.

CageHero also is participating in a campaign benefiting Clothes4Soul, an organization that facilitates the donations of new clothing to those in need. When you buy one shirt, it will donate one to the organization. Participating in this program helps the CageHero brand in showing that it truly is making a positive impression in the MMA community.

CageHero’s new info:
New Website:  www.cagehero.net
Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/CAGEHERO
Twitter:  @cagehero

Last week, UFC and Fox officially announced their first “UFC on FOX” network event on 11/12. This weekend – just over two months before the day of the event – FOX began it’s promotional campaign during the Red Sox vs Rangers “MLB Game of the Week” on Saturday afternoon.

The in-game promo occurred in the 5th inning of the Red Sox vs Rangers game, which was indicative of a few things. One, it showed that the message to promote the event was given from the top FOX executives (top-down) and it would heavily push the UFC events in the enthusiastic manner which they suggested ever since signing the TV deal with the UFC.  The other key point here is that the lengthy promo not only promoted the 11/12 event, but it also included a PPV promo for UFC 135, mentioning both headliners John “Bones” Jones and Quinton Rampage” Jackson. Via MMAJunkie:

“We’re jumping on this thing and making a big a deal out of it as we can,” Fox Sports president Eric Shanks said today during a conference call announcing the event’s headliner, a heavyweight title fight between champ Cain Velasquez and challenger Junior Dos Santos. “Guaranteed, we’ll be promoting this across all of our sports and all of our entertainment properties leading up until the 12th.”

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The second promo was a 10 second commercial spot during the game for the 11/12 event and mostly featured highlights of Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, ending with a shot displaying the title of the event, the date, and the UFC on FOX logo.

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We were skeptical at first of how much FOX was really going to push the UFC , but after watching the first UFC on FOX promo during the press conference and this weekends efforts, it shouldn’t surprise anyone when FOX starts to run promos during NFL games in about a week.  Typically, those Sunday NFL games get great media coverage and high viewership numbers which surpass the majority of MLB games. The UFC will be looking to capitalize on the exposure FOX will provide in the next couple of months.

The UFC announced that it has entered into a multi-year partnership with longtime UFC sponsor Harley Davidson. The motorcycle maker became a core UFC sponsor in 2008.

Harley Davidson will be featured across multiple UFC platforms including PPV, tv broadcasts, online and in the octagon. It will also be a partner in a newly announced promotion called “Hometown Throwdown.”

Via UFC:

On the heels of this major announcement, the companies also jointly announced the launch of a new promotion that gives fans the opportunity to bring a UFC event to their city in late 2012. Beginning next month, fans can visit http://www.ufc.com/hometownthrowdown and vote for their city to win the Hometown Throwdown event. The fully-interactive site will include all of the latest information on the promotion, as well as unique offerings from Harley-Davidson. The city finalists will be announced in early 2012, with the winner being crowned in the spring. The event is expected to be held next summer.

In honor of the UFC’s visit to Harley Davidson’s headquarters, it gave away a Harley Davidson Blackline to Chris Lytle, the winner of the UFC on Versus 5’s main event.

Payout Perspective:

With the news of the UFC-Fox deal today, the UFC-Harley Davidson news has taken a backseat. Harley Davidson’s renewal is good for both parties as the UFC now has its network deal. Looking at its partnerships with mainstream brands, we see that the UFC is starting to enter into partnerships with sponsors for specific events. We’ve seen this with Bud Light and the Battle on the Bayou promotion. The Hometown Throwdown promo appears to be a good bit of brand activation for Harley Davidson and we will see what ways it will promote this.

MMA Junkie reports that the winner of the UFC on Versus 5’s main event will receive a Harley Davidson. Dan Hardy and the retiring Chris Lytle will compete for the Harley Davidson Blackline.

According to MMA Junkie, “UFC officials today announced that either Chris Lytle or opponent Dan Hardy also will receive a 2012 Harley-Davidson Blackline motorcycle.” The motorcycle retails for $14,999.

Payout Perspective:

It would have been nice if there would have some leadup to this promotion. It appears that this was announced today, Sunday. Notwithstanding, Harley Davidson is a longtime sponsor and has promoted the Blackline during other UFC TV events. Almost a fitting retirement sendoff for Lytle, if he is able to win in his last MMA fight.

On another note, the name UFC on Versus 5 is not a title that just rolls off by memory. This should change next year when Versus changes its name and if UFC chooses another network.

The Sports Business Journal reports on Tecate’s promotional plans for September 17th’s fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr and Victor Ortiz which includes a big event in Southern California.

Tecate will be taking advantage of the fact that the fight is a day removed from Mexican Independence Day, September 16th.  The fight takes place on Saturday, September 17th. In addition to the fight in Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions will promote a fight involving young up and comer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the Staples Center the same day as Mayweather-Ortiz. Fans attending the fight at the Staples Center would have a chance to watch the Las Vegas fight and fans attending Mayweather-Ortiz would be able to watch the Alvarez fight. Additionally, a music festival featuring two well-known Mexican acts will perform at Staples Center.

HBO has committed to having a broadcast crew at the Alvarez fight in addition to the crew at the Mayweather-Ortiz fight. The PPV buyers would receive fights from both locations.

In addition to its usual national promotional campaign for big fights, Tecate will launch a huge promotional campaign in Southern California in support of the Staples Center event. For the marketing push, Tecate will spend more than $800,000 in radio, TV and outdoor advertising in Southern California alone. It will also offer rebates for the Staples Center event similar to the rebates it has offered for past big fight PPVs. The rebates will be placed at promotional displays in 10,000 grocery and liquor stores across the Southland.

Payout Perspective:

Tecate is a huge backer of boxing and extending its marketing reach for this fight seemed natural considering the appeal of Victor Ortiz, the return of Floyd Mayweather and the fight coinciding with the Mexican Independence celebration. The demographic in the Los Angeles area made sense for Tecate to collaborate with  AEG (the owner of the Staples Center), HBO and Golden Boy in producing an event in the area. The big investment in Southern California is a calculated marketing strategy considering the fact that Tecate generates 35% of its US business in Southern California (according to the SBJ article). With this big marketing push, it will be interesting to see the numbers in attendance at the Staples Center to watch Alvarez and then Ortiz.

Stratus Media and ProElite officially announced today the re-launch of their website via press release.  Along with the site, the promotion also released a promo for their upcoming 8/27 card in Hawaii.

 ProElite, Inc. (PELE.PK), today announces its newly redesigned and rebranded website with highly improved look and feel is now live.

“It is an exciting time for ProElite and we are thrilled that the company’s striking and revamped site is successfully up and running,” said Paul Feller, CEO, Stratus Media Group and Chairman, ProElite.

Proelite.com has gone under structural and facial reconstruction and now showcases upcoming fights, fighter bios, stats, links to Facebook and Twitter pages, and more.

“The relaunch of the website is one of many steps ProElite is taking as it rolls out its new identity under Stratus,” said William Kelly COO of Stratus and ProElite. Functionality and value for our site visitors and fans will continue to improve over the coming weeks. Fans will also soon be able to purchase a redesigned line of ProElite MMA merchandise.”

ProElite, Inc., newly acquired by Stratus Media Group, returns to the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena August 27. Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com.

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ProElite Hawaii 8/27 Event Promo:

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Payout Perspective:

ProElite has been taking good solid strides in re-launching their MMA brand.  The re-launch of their website and the release of the slick promotional video for the upcoming card in Hawaii are of very good quality.  They are also heavily focusing on Social Media to promote their brand and event, already establishing accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

There were recent rumor’s about ProElite possibly signing a TV deal with Showtime/CBS, but those rumors were recently put to rest by Vice President of Fight Operations T. Jay Thompson. Thompson states that they want to grow at the right pace, and that they are looking for an entry-level TV deal first that fits as to where they are as an MMA promotion currently, which is refreshing to hear.

Their second event is scheduled for November and will most likely take place in New Jersey, where they expect to already have a TV deal and host the first round of their own Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we look at UFC 132 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The featured bout was Dominick Cruz defending his Bantamweight title againt Urijah Faber.

Cruz defeats Faber in entertaining matchup

Welcome to the UFC Dominick Cruz. A back and forth bout saw Cruz take control of Faber in the end to earn his first UFC win and successful title defense. As we discussed here, the UFC will need to start actively promoting its Bantamweight champ. An example of this can be found in last week’s print edition of the Sports Business Journal. The UFC has a full page ad on the back page were it shows its current champions: Velasquez, Jones, GSP and Edgar. It neglects to include Jose Aldo and Cruz. Last night’s action was fast-paced and entertaining. The UFC can get behind the lighter divisions and sell this type of action. We will see what happens in the future. Certainly, a Faber win would have made life easier marketing this division.

As for Faber, a rematch could happen sooner than later. But, he has lost his last four shots at a title. How many more chances can he get?

Axe Murderer KO’d by Leben, career over?

As predicted, the Wanderlei Silva-Chris Leben matchup featured a big knockout. It was a little surprising that it happened in the first minutes of the fight but Chris Leben took a couple haymakers and returned his own to KO Silva. Dana White essentially stated that Silva’s career is over in the UFC. Similar to Chuck Liddell, Silva will have to have someone tell him to stop fighting. Although he has an exciting fight style, the years are catching up to him and a body just can’t sustain that many shots.

Ortiz upsets Bader, keeps job

The gravedigger celebration was brought out once again as Tito Ortiz submitted Ryan Bader in the upset of the night. For as much heat Ortiz receives, the arena seemed to be at its loudest. Bad news for Bader as he will need to regroup after two straight losses.

Attendance and gate

MMA Junkie reports that UFC 132’s attendance was at 12, 947 for a gate of $2.3 million. The numbers are in line with its other Vegas shows this year:  UFC 125 (12,753, $2.57M) and 130 (12,874, $2.174M) (h/t MMA Supremacy).

Bonuses

MMA Junkie reports the bonuses for UFC 132. Each received $75K.

Fight of the Night: Cruz vs. Faber
KO of the night: Carlos Condit
Sub of the night: Tito Ortiz

There were several KO of the night candidates including Chris Leben, Melivn Guillard and Rafael dos Anjos.

UFC Programming

Spike TV debuted the UFC’s Countdown show during the day Wednesday of fight week instead of its regular primetime spot. While subsequent airings were shown at night, it could be seen as passive aggressive programming as a result of the looming hole the UFC will leave Spike when/if it goes to another network.

Sponsorships

Bud Light Lime, MusclePharm, Dodge, TapouT, Harley Davidson and Xyience were in the Octagon. Bud Light Lime branding utilized the lime color as the ring girls donned lime attire at the weigh-ins and during the PPV. Also at the weigh-ins Bud Light Lime owned the space in front of the scale fo the weigh-in.

In the leadup to UFC 132, Form Athletics, a company co-founded by Faber, held an autograph session featuring Anthony Pettis and Mark Munoz and other UFC fighters to promote Faber’s main event. Pettis and Munoz also appeared at a Las Vegas ABC Store to sign autographs on behalf of its sponsor Xyience.

The movie Conan took over the Harley Davidson check point. It also made a mistake by having its star, Jason Momoa, try to hype the film. The Goldberg-Momoa interview was as awkward as the man-hug at its conclusion.

Matt Wiman sported a PETA-inspired sponsor on his shorts: Meet your Meat.com.

Twitter trends

Notably, Faber trended during and after UFC 132 but Dominick Cruz’s name did not. . Also trending were “Crippler” for Chris Leben and “Siver” for Dennis Siver. (h/t MMA Supremacy)

Also, Justin Bieber was at the fights and posted it on twitter. Pretty good  mainstream publicity considering Bieber has over 10 million followers.

Post-UFC 132 Headlines

-More small guys? Saturday’s main event showcased the reason why fighters 155 and under should be on more PPV cards. While most are relatively unknown, hopefully Jose Aldo, Mark Hominick, Brian Bowles, Might Mouse Johnson and Dominick Cruz will become regulars on PPV cards.

-Melvin Guillard looks like he has resurrected his career. The Young Assassin looks poised to make a run at the Lightweight title

-Losing Faber. Urijah Faber is one of the most marketable faces in the UFC. His looks and athleticism have earned him mainstream appeal from the likes of Rosie O’Donnell and Jim Rome. The UFC would have loved to see Faber win the title as it would lend notoriety to the division. Despite losing, he still can be the face for the small guy in the UFC. It will be interesting to see how the UFC will book Faber because an upset loss in his next fight could be damaging .

Odds and ends

- Watching the replay, you can see Faber’s muay thai coach, Master Thong, peek over the shoulder of Bruce Buffer as he was announcing the judge’s scores. He saw the score before it was announced.

-Dominick Cruz was awarded his blue belt after his title defense. Cruz has to be the toughest blue belt around. Ironically, Faber was awarded his brown belt after his last fight against Eddie Wineland.

-If we saw Wanderlei Silva’s last fight in the UFC, someone must pick up his entrance music.

A second straight week of solid fights from the UFC. The night saw some great action, a W for Tito Ortiz and a great five round fight from Faber and Cruz.

Welcome to another Payout Perspective. This time we look at UFC 130 held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, Quentin “Rampage” Jackson was too much for Matt Hamill.

Rampage dominates Hamill

Not the most impressive main event, but Rampage Jackson dominated Matt Hamill in positioning himself for a title shot against Jon Jones. However, Jackson’s hand may prevent him from getting the shot. With mediocre buzz for this matchup, it seemed like Matt Hamill was not ready to step up in class in the division and in hindsight it looks like he was the recipient of this match by default, not merit. Once it was determined that Hamill could not take Rampage down, the outcome was elementary.

Jackson is a guy that can turn his appeal on and off. He had talked about retiring He was good on the Craig Ferguson show, bad on the MMA Hour and gave an entertaining excuse for his appearance with Ariel Helwani  here. It will be interesting to see how he’d do against Jon Jones if and/orwhen that fight happens.

Mir defeats Nelson

The real winner of this match may be Mike Dolce of the Dolce Diet. Roy Nelson appeared more out of shape than ever before in all of his fights in the UFC. Frank Mir looked better than he did in his match with Cro Cop at UFC 119 but that does not say a lot. It was reported that Mike Dolce may meet with Roy Nelson to assess fitness and diet. A smart idea.

Stann, Story and Browne impress

The other three fights on the PPV were better than the last two. Perhaps the most impressive was Brian Stann with an impressive stoppage of Jorge Santiago. Fueled by the fact he was fighting Memorial Day weekend, Stann looks like he is ready to compete in the upper tier of the division.

Similarly, Rick Story controlled Thiago Alves and won a unanimous decision. Story is now looking for Jon Fitch.

Quietly but consistently Travis Browne is moving up the ranks in the Heavyweight division. With an impressive KO of Stefan Struve, Browne remains undefeated in his pro career.

Attendance and gate

According to MMA Junkie, the event drew 12,816 fans for a gate of $2.57 million. The number of comps were not revealed. The average ticket price for the event was $200.53. The number of empty seats were noticeable from the PPV. Ironically, the numbers rival those from UFC 125: Edgar vs. Maynard from January 1, 2011 where 125 drew 12,874 for a $2,174,780. One might recall that nearly half of those in attendance at 125 did not pay.

The attendance and gate do not compare to last year’s Memorial Day card between Rampage and Rashard Evans. That show garnered 14,996 fans for a $3.985 million gate. It also received over a million PPV buys. Something this card will fall well short of.

Bonuses

Via MMA Junkie:

KO of the Night – Travis Browne

Submission of the Night – Gleison Tibau with his RNC submission of Rafaello Oliveira. Originally on Facebook, Tibau’s submission was shown as a filler at the end of the PPV.

Fight of the Night – Stann vs. Santiago

Each of the fighters received $70K for their efforts. Stann could have received a double bonus for his KO although Browne’s was impressive.

Twitter

With the news that the UFC will be offering bonuses for fighters using their twitter accounts, the UFC included each fighter’s twitter handle with their name and birthplace on their walkouts.

Sponsorships

XBox 360 continues with its sponsorship of “Mighty Mouse” Demetrious Johnson. It was the sole sponsor of Johnson in his fight during the UFC Prelims on Spike TV. XBox 360 also demo’d the new UFC Personal Trainer for the XBox (also available on other video consoles) earlier in the week at a local Fry’s in Las Vegas.

Safe Auto Insurance continues to add fighters to its list with the addition of Matt Hamill as he wore the SA hat walking in the main event. Travis Browne continued with his sponsorship of Safe Auto.

Boost Mobile was on the mat (along with the usual sponsors) at UFC 130. This is due in part to Rampage Jackson’s involvement as a spokesperson.

Rampage also signed an exclusive deal earlier this spring to wear MMA Elite clothing.

A promo for UFC 131 during the PPV has the event presented by the UFC’s newest game: the UFC Personal Trainer.

The elevation Training Mask is starting to make its way onto more fighter shorts.

Dodge continued with its sponsorship of the Facebook fights on the UFC fan page.

Post-UFC 130 Headlines

Will Rampage get the next shot at Jon Jones? – If Rampage’s hand is injured, we could see the winner of Phil Davis-Rashard Evans getting the shot. Or, we can see Lyoto Machida get the shot.

Stann continues to impress – Brian Stann’s rise in the middleweight division continues. Perhaps he was inspired by Memorial Day weekend or he is on a roll but he looks like someone that could be in line for a title shot in 2012.

Fedor vs. Henderson – Did anyone else the official announcement of this match on the same day as a PPV seemed odd?

Ends

Originally this card looked liked this:

Edgar vs. Maynard II

Rampage vs. Thiago Silva

Mir vs. Nelson

Arguably, this card would have been more intriguing than the one that took place Saturday night. Rampage-Silva would have been my pick as the fight to watch. The two guys can mean mug and fans would be treated to a slugfest. Going off of the classic draw on New Year’s night, many would have liked to see the Edgar-Maynard rematch. Finally, Mir-Nelson looked good on paper.  Obviously, things outside of the UFC’s power caused for the retooling of the card. It also had to reshoot an “In the Moment” starring Rampage Jackson (which wasn’t too bad). While there were some interesting fights for MMA fans (Stann-Santiago, Torres-Johnson), it lacked the attraction for the casual viewer. Thus, its likely the buy rate for the PPV would be under 500K. Compared to last year’s Memorial Day show which drew 1 million PPV buys, this will have to be a disappointment.

UPDATED 5/31/11

UFC Salaries via MMA Weekly:

Notably, Roy Nelson only made $15K for his fight with Frank Mir. He made the same in his fight with dos Santos at UFC 117. Brian Stann’s ($46K) made 3x more. Low man on the salary list was prelim fighter Chris Cariaso who made $4,000. Mir and Jackson topped the list at $250K.
MAIN CARD:
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson: $250,000 (no win bonus) def. Matt Hamill: $32,000
Frank Mir: $250,000 (includes $125,000 win bonus) def. Roy Nelson: $15,000
Travis Browne: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Stefan Struve: $21,000
Rick Story: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus) def. Thiago Alves: $33,000
Brian Stann: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus) def. Jorge Santiago: $36,000

PRELMINARY CARD:
Demetrious Johnson: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Miguel Torres: $30,000
Tim Boetsch: $36,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Kendall Grove: $28,000
Gleison Tibau: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Rafaello Oliveira: $10,000
Michael McDonald: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Chris Cariaso: $4,000
Renan Barao: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Cole Escovedo: $6,000

MMA Elite rolled out its new sports drink to the masses at the UFC Fan Expo in Toronto on Friday. The fighting and lifestyle brand believed that the sports drink was a “natural progression” for the growth of its brand.

 (Via MMA Elite)

Via press release:

MMA Elite® has secured a licensing deal with Sirius MMA, Inc., a group founded by Bryan Lindsey, a Las Vegas based entrepreneur, and James Akers and the team at Wit Beverage (WBC), to market and distribute a naturally flavored sports drink in North America. Lindsey was first introduced to UBM in February 2010 and has since generated numerous distribution deals with UBM across a broad range of consumer products, for both domestic and international markets.

Lindsey states, “This is an opportunity to bring a naturally flavored sports drink with ‘No High Fructose Corn Syrup’ to a growing worldwide audience and to the professional athletes of the fastest growing sport in the world. Sirius MMA and WBC feels this will be a lucrative deal with a global reach and is proud to be associated with MMA Elite®, the largest MMA lifestyle brand in the world.”

“UBM realized that entering into this product category was a natural progression for the growth of MMA Elite® as a lifestyle brand while remaining solidly intact with its core fan base and the athletes themselves. Considerable time and effort has been put into the drink profile so that MMA Elite® is able to offer a unique alternative to the products currently available”, said Steven Jolna, president, UBM.

Payout Perspective:
As an official partner of the UFC, MMA Elite’s new sports drink will not conflict with Xyience, which is the official energy drink of the UFC. BJ Penn (pictured above) showed up at MMA Elite’s booth today to help promote the sports drink. It will be interesting to see how the new sports drink will be marketed and whether fans will purchase the drink.

MMA Elite rolled out its new sports drink to the masses at the UFC Fan Expo in Toronto on Friday. The fighting and lifestyle brand believed that the sports drink was a “natural progression” for the growth of its brand.

 (Via MMA Elite)

Via press release:

MMA Elite® has secured a licensing deal with Sirius MMA, Inc., a group founded by Bryan Lindsey, a Las Vegas based entrepreneur, and James Akers and the team at Wit Beverage (WBC), to market and distribute a naturally flavored sports drink in North America. Lindsey was first introduced to UBM in February 2010 and has since generated numerous distribution deals with UBM across a broad range of consumer products, for both domestic and international markets.

Lindsey states, “This is an opportunity to bring a naturally flavored sports drink with ‘No High Fructose Corn Syrup’ to a growing worldwide audience and to the professional athletes of the fastest growing sport in the world. Sirius MMA and WBC feels this will be a lucrative deal with a global reach and is proud to be associated with MMA Elite®, the largest MMA lifestyle brand in the world.”

“UBM realized that entering into this product category was a natural progression for the growth of MMA Elite® as a lifestyle brand while remaining solidly intact with its core fan base and the athletes themselves. Considerable time and effort has been put into the drink profile so that MMA Elite® is able to offer a unique alternative to the products currently available”, said Steven Jolna, president, UBM.

Payout Perspective:
As an official partner of the UFC, MMA Elite’s new sports drink will not conflict with Xyience, which is the official energy drink of the UFC. BJ Penn (pictured above) showed up at MMA Elite’s booth today to help promote the sports drink. It will be interesting to see how the new sports drink will be marketed and whether fans will purchase the drink.

The promotion for UFC 129 has been in full force over the past couple of weeks, which means tons of interviews and PR work for Zuffa’s staff.  Dana White released his latest Vlog and gave an insightful interview for MMAHeat.com with Karyn Bryant.

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Payout Perspective:

White’s Vlog was interesting to see in terms of how much his vlogs have changed from the days that he would attack promotions, MMA media, and pretty much let anything go off the top of the head.  Since then, Zuffa pays close attention tot he details now with any sort of media that reaches it’s fanbase and detractors.  In this video, we are presented with a very calm and relaxed Dana who is just strolling around the Zuffa offices playing practical jokes and giving us some insight into how the company works.
Along with interviews and Vlogs, the UFC has also just released a video ” Mr. Liddell: Executive Iceman” that goes along with these vibe they are painting to their audience. You can expect more of these videos from the UFC brass as they try to portray the UFC as a fun and laid-back brand to appeal to the casuals instead of the bloody cage-fighter image painted on to the sport from it’s early days.

We also get to see what White’s reaction was watching the Strikeforce event in San Diego back in April, where he keeps pushing the message that it was a great event and that he is a Strikeforce fan and enjoyed the show.  It was apparent that Dana had a worried look when Daley knocked down Nick Diaz, but was emotional and enthusiastic when Diaz was able to finish off Daley, who had been kicked out of the UFC for sucker-punching Josh Koscheck after their bout.

When Karyn Bryant asks about a UFC Channel, White quickly shy’s away and says that it’s not easy to get your own channel, though brings ups the fact that in a Business Journal article, UFC was the most popular property chosen to have enough content and demand to start one.

The UFC announced that it is adding grappling matches to the UFC 129 Expo in Toronto. UFC fighter Diego Sanchez will be featured in a match against number-one ranked Canadian grappler Andrew McInnes.

Via press release:

Diego “The Dream” Sanchez is already a force in the UFC^® welterweight division and has his sights set on the title currently held by Canadian superstar Georges St-Pierre. Now, the red-hot contender is out to prove that he is among the world’s most elite grapplers. The Ultimate Fighting Championship^® announced today that Sanchez will be among four competitors vying for the UFC^® Fan Expo grappling tournament title at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto on April 29 and 30.

Sanchez will meet number-one ranked Canadian grappler Andrew McInnes in the opening round, while world-renowned jiu jitsu ace Ryan Hall, who defeated Hermes Franca at the UFC Fan Expo in Boston last August, will take on Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Jorge Britto. Britto has trained under the likes of Helio Gracie, Royler Gracie, Saulo Ribeiro and Xande Ribeiro.

The tournament will be presented by Grappler’s Quest. It is the third grappling tournament held at a UFC expo.

Payout Perspective:

The rise in popularity of MMA has seen an indirect rise in its core disciplines including grappling. Regular people have enrolled in Jiu Jitsu schools and taken submission wrestling classes based on watching the UFC. The grappling tournament at UFC 129 adds to the list of things to do at the UFC 129 Expo in Toronto. It is a good way to promote the sport as well as giving grappling practitioners a chance to compete in front of people not exposed to the sport.

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The UFC announced that beer sponsor Bud Light has renewed its sponsorship with the UFC to remain the official beer of the UFC. The multi-year agreement will keep Bud Light in the center of the Octagon at UFC events.

Via UFC press release:

Bud Light’s sponsorship renewal with Zuffa, LLC, owner of the UFC brand, will continue to immerse the beer into all areas of the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization.  The sponsorship will increase the number of featured Pay-Per-Views (PPV) Bud Light is a presenting sponsor of from two to four annually, and the brand will remain a featured sponsor of all additional PPV and television broadcasts.  Additionally, Bud Light and UFC will work together to present one special promotional event per year, beginning in 2011 with a live event in New Orleans airing on Spike TV Saturday, Sept. 17.

Not only is Bud Light remaining as the official beer, it is extending its partnership with the UFC with brand activation plans beginning with a UFC event in September. Bud Light will utilize an integrated marketing approach in promoting the New Orleans event.

Bud Light is extending the New Orleans event beyond the fight night with the “Battle on the Bayou” national sweepstakes*, a three-day, two-night UFC fan experience in the Big Easy – complete with weigh-ins downtown, an exclusive concert and meet-and-greets with UFC personalities.  Beginning May 2, fans 21 and older can enter to a win a trip for two to the “Battle on the Bayou” online at www.Facebook.com/BudLight or through UFC-branded Snap Tags on Bud Light point-of-sale materials.

“Bud Light’s first three years with the UFC have focused largely on growing awareness and viewership of the sport at bars, restaurants and all the other places Bud Light is sold across the country,” said Mark Wright, vice president of media, sports & entertainment marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc.  “Having brought the UFC to more people, we want to start bringing more people to the UFC by creating exclusive fan experiences only Bud Light and the UFC can deliver.  ‘Battle on the Bayou’ is a first and unprecedented step in that direction.”

Payout Perspective:

The Bud Light commitment is a significant step in the right direction for the UFC with its corporate sponsors. Not only does Bud Light renew as the official beer of the UFC, it will commit additional resources in partnering with the UFC to promote a card a year. This commitment to the UFC can only help with other mainstream sponsors in committing more dollars toward sponsorship.

For Bud Light, the additional sponsorship commitment seems to hedge on the possibility of an NFL strike in the fall. Even though it is the official beer of the NFL, it will partner with the UFC to promote a September card in New Orleans.

The UFC announced that beer sponsor Bud Light has renewed its sponsorship with the UFC to remain the official beer of the UFC. The multi-year agreement will keep Bud Light in the center of the Octagon at UFC events.

Via UFC press release:

Bud Light’s sponsorship renewal with Zuffa, LLC, owner of the UFC brand, will continue to immerse the beer into all areas of the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization.  The sponsorship will increase the number of featured Pay-Per-Views (PPV) Bud Light is a presenting sponsor of from two to four annually, and the brand will remain a featured sponsor of all additional PPV and television broadcasts.  Additionally, Bud Light and UFC will work together to present one special promotional event per year, beginning in 2011 with a live event in New Orleans airing on Spike TV Saturday, Sept. 17.

Not only is Bud Light remaining as the official beer, it is extending its partnership with the UFC with brand activation plans beginning with a UFC event in September. Bud Light will utilize an integrated marketing approach in promoting the New Orleans event.

Bud Light is extending the New Orleans event beyond the fight night with the “Battle on the Bayou” national sweepstakes*, a three-day, two-night UFC fan experience in the Big Easy – complete with weigh-ins downtown, an exclusive concert and meet-and-greets with UFC personalities.  Beginning May 2, fans 21 and older can enter to a win a trip for two to the “Battle on the Bayou” online at www.Facebook.com/BudLight or through UFC-branded Snap Tags on Bud Light point-of-sale materials.

“Bud Light’s first three years with the UFC have focused largely on growing awareness and viewership of the sport at bars, restaurants and all the other places Bud Light is sold across the country,” said Mark Wright, vice president of media, sports & entertainment marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc.  “Having brought the UFC to more people, we want to start bringing more people to the UFC by creating exclusive fan experiences only Bud Light and the UFC can deliver.  ‘Battle on the Bayou’ is a first and unprecedented step in that direction.”

Payout Perspective:

The Bud Light commitment is a significant step in the right direction for the UFC with its corporate sponsors. Not only does Bud Light renew as the official beer of the UFC, it will commit additional resources in partnering with the UFC to promote a card a year. This commitment to the UFC can only help with other mainstream sponsors in committing more dollars toward sponsorship.

For Bud Light, the additional sponsorship commitment seems to hedge on the possibility of an NFL strike in the fall. Even though it is the official beer of the NFL, it will partner with the UFC to promote a September card in New Orleans.

The Texas-based promotion, Shark Fights, announced it had signed a deal with Fuel TV last week. It will be placed into Fuel’s one hour telecast of “Friday Fight Night” starting April 15th at 10 pm.

The press release from last week goes into a bit more detail regarding Fuel TV’s “Friday Fight Night”:

FUEL TV’s Friday Fight Night” features telecasts of several epic “must see” fight events, including Shark Fights 13. As part of the Shark Fight series, FUEL TV will air select bouts from the highly touted mixed martial arts event. The Shark Fights 13 roster is loaded with  top MMA contenders including British slugger Paul Daley, TUF contestant and UFC super star Keith Jardine, current Shark Fight lightFUEL TV heavyweight champion Trevor Prangley, hard hitting light heavyweight contenders Rameau Sokoudjou and Houston Alexander, UFC veteran Danillo Villefort, Strikeforce veteran Joey Villasenor, and more.

Here is the TV promo for Shark Fights:

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Payout Perspective:

It was no secret that Fuel TV was looking to showcase MMA programming in 2011 based on the new direction the channel, which reaches 31 million homes, was heading. Fuel TV general manager C. J. Olivares told Sports Business Journal about the possibilities and new direction last year:

Fuel TV plans to add lifestyle programming and sports programming from motorsports and mixed martial arts to its lineup over the next month and a half. The moves are designed to expand the channel’s target demo from 12- to 24-year-old males to 12-35 and enlarge its audience.

Fuel TV was also involved in the rumored Bellator TV deal along with FX late last year, though the reports were proven to be premature at the time.  Along with Fuel TV, FX – another FOX affiliate interested in MMA programming – has also been in talks to bring in a sporting franchise to the network for years, rumored many times to be in talks with the UFC and even other big name MMA promotions such as Strikeforce.  The Strikeforce purchase by the UFC has taken away a big name MMA promotion for these networks, therefore giving other smaller promotions such as Shark Fights the opportunity to strike a deal.