UFC 114 saw the return of the Tequila Cazadores Spirit Award of which Diego Sanchez was the recipient, prior to his bout with John Hathaway, for the following reasons:
The Tequila CAZADORES® Spirit Award is presented to UFC fighters who have demonstrated honor and integrity both in and out of the Octagon. These nominees have embodied the core values of social responsibility, sportsmanship, and dedication to mixed martial arts. Tequila CAZADORES® will present a $1000 check to the winner’s designated charity.
Payout Perspective:
The UFC has been working diligently over the last year to really get its sponsors involved on the product and marketing side – this award is the latest example of that effort. The contest hits at all of the points that a sponsorship promotion should: fan involvement, integration of the brand and property, and the reinforcement of brand image characteristics (honor, integrity, sportsmanship, philanthropy, etc.).
I’m waiting to see whether we’re going to get any real marketing follow-up on the promotion, because I think that’s probably the last missing element here: the contest, itself, is meaningless unless people know what it is and how to participate.
Editorial Note: The keen eyes of our readership have informed me that Diego Sanchez was not, in fact, the first recipient of the award. It has been awarded 6-7 times (which emphasizes my point above about marketing the promotion).
That wasn’t actually the debut of the award. Brian Stann won the award a couple of months ago and I believe there was at least one more before him.
Apparently, fans vote the winner?
http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=misc.SpiritAward
Yes actually there have been numerous winners, six or seven to this point. This lats time, with Diego Sanchez, was the first time it was voted on by the fans.
I agree it is a great sponsorship tool and it gives the fighters an opportunity to give to a charity of their choice.