Marketing and the UFC

I have been very interested in the history and marketing strategy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Whether or not you agree with the sport of mixed martial arts you have to respect the organization's marketing plan. The growth of the sport and profitable revenue since Dana White took over the organization has been amazing. An article on Yahoo! stated that the company was purchased in 2001 for $2 million and today it's estimated worth is $1 billion. I like that profit margin.

The popularity of the sport and high revenue have not gone unnoticed however. CBS has launched there version of mixed martial arts called EliteXC. So far the EliteXC has had limited success competing with the UFC. Affliction, a clothing company, is also trying to win some of the mixed martial arts marketing share. The first Affliction event is scheduled for July 14, 2008 on pay-per-view, which is the same day as a free UFC event. This is no coincidence. Dana White and the UFC want to see the Affliction event flop.

For a well done comparison of the marketing strategy comparison between the UFC and Elite XC check out this article.