New Jersey a Growing MMA Hotbed

Joe Favorito of New Jersey News Room, and formerly of the IFL, writes of the challenges MMA faces in its future growth and how New Jersey is well-positioned to be a hotbed for the sport moving forward.

The question is, how can brands find a way to make a cohesive tie to the grassroots while also drawing attention from the followers of the UFC? That is one of the issues that the sport needs to figure out if it is to continue to grow.

The conversion of young participants in a lifestyle sport to be followers of the professional side is generational and, in today’s world of instant ROI, can be difficult to find. Soccer, with its well organized millions of kids, still is making the transition to have those young people watch and follow the professional side after 15 years, and it may take MMA at least that long to do the same.

There is also the issue of violence. While many may argue that MMA is no more violent than football or hockey, the amount of bloody injuries in an average MMA event is still much higher than any other sport – and to be honest, the blood gives MMA its edgy appeal for most of its core. The appeal has also caused some potential sponsors still to not move off the edge and into the sport, for fear of brand damage. Yes that is slowly changing, in great part due to the UFC and their TV partner in Spike, but it is a slow conversion, especially in challenging times.

So can New Jersey be a great conduit for the continued growth of MMA? For the most part professional events have not done well from a business perspective in places like Newark and Atlantic City, again because of the high cost of staging events vs. the limited draw of a box office with no other revenue coming in (limited sponsors, no TV money, little value of digital rights). However, New Jersey has the unique combination that many sports need to succeed… a growing grassroots presence with the appeal of two major metropolitan areas in Philly and New York, so the potential for brand success for the sport overall, not just for the UFC, is strong.

Will it work for the State? There is little doubt the UFC event in Newark will be a success, and maybe that can continue the draw that would translate across the river to Madison Avenue, as well as into the local gyms. 2010 for MMA will be all about realizing potential that has been developing, and if it is to be realized, New Jersey is as good as a starting point as anywhere.

Payout Perspective:

Joe is right to point out that the lifestyle and training aspects of the sport are becoming very popular: There are over 26,000 martial arts facilities in the United States, and participation is growing at a steady pace. That growth is the reason why the UFC has moved forward with its UFC Gym concept; the type of brand extension that makes sense not only from a revenue diversification perspective, but also one of future fan base growth.

The challenge of converting grassroots participation into brand awareness and fan following is a long-term endeavour – especially on the athlete side – but MMA is well-positioned to generate new fans out of this grassroots growth for the following reasons:

1.) The close knit martial arts community: MMA is largely responsible for the renewed interest in martial arts, and for that reason the traditional martial arts are very much behind MMA. If you walk into your local dojo on any given Monday following a UFC event you’re likely to hear about it, but that isn’t the case with your local amateur soccer program and the MLS or Premier League.

2.) MMA’s place in pop culture is at an all-time high, and certainly more prevalent than any of the other “growth” sports (soccer, hockey, etc.).

3.) Simplicity. Everyone may not like MMA, but everyone gets it; and that’s one less barrier to converting fans.

Note: The entire piece is worth a read as Joe talks about some of the more popular MMA clubs that have started up in the state (like Schulman’s and Renzo Gracie). He also runs a sports marketing blog that is worth an RSS.