B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch toured Australia last week to promote their February 27th bout in Sydney. The promotional tour may assist in educating Aussie fans with mixed views of mixed martial arts.
Via Fight Opinion:
BJ Penn, Jon Fitch, George Sotiropoulos, and Kyle Noke went on a public relations tour yesterday in Australia to promote the promotion’s upcoming event in Sydney in February. A red hot ticket and business will be booming. However, in places like Victoria and Melbourne, you won’t be seeing events any time soon.
The Victoria paper story on the UFC headline: “Ultimate in blood and gore” The article focuses on all the stereotypes of MMA. Cage fighting is banned in Victoria. Melbourne’s Herald Sun had a similar piece although it quoted George Sotiropoulos.
On the positive side, 9MSN and The Moonee Valley Leader had articles which featured UFC fighters. In the 9MSN article, Fitch is featured. The Moonee Valley Leader focuses on the UFC fighters visit to a local gym.
Payout Perspective:
With the expansion of the UFC to new locations, educating the locals on mixed martial arts is vital. The 4 stories show the opposing views of mixed martial arts. Obviously the UFC friendly stories are slanted since the journalists were given access to the fighters. The Victoria paper is the harshest critic of the UFC likely due to the ban in the state. Media tours like this one are necessary when trying to sway public opinon. The access the UFC provides is a good way to get its point of view out to the media.
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