MMA Junkie reports that Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz will be sponsored by the Phoenix International Speedway in his next fight which he anticipates will be in early 2013. Cruz becomes the first UFC fighter to earn a speedway sponsorship.
Cruz served as an honorary pace car driver on Sunday. It was his second time this year making an appearance at the speedway. His appearances were well-received. His relationship with the speedway made the crossover sports sponsorship opportunity possible.
Cruz will be wearing the Phoenix International Speedway logo on his walkout shirt and shorts.
Payout Perspective:
Perhaps the drivers wanted to impress Cruz as there was a major melee during the race. While this sponsor may not be Nike, the sponsorship relationship has already proven to be productive considering Cruz has made two appearances at the speedway. According to the Junkie article, it was Cruz’s love of racing and his Arizona roots which made the sponsorship possible. For the speedway, the sponsorship will help reach the UFC demo. It’s not clear how many crossover fans there are between NASCAR and the UFC but the UFC-Fox relationship has led to crossover promotions on each other’s broadcasts.
As a fan of both I have wondered how a UFC event would go over in a big city the same weekend as a NASCAR event. I’m not sure you would want to jump in and do a huge fight with a huge race but maybe say a slightly above average UFC card combined with a race in Chicago. Or maybe even a smaller city than that considering when a NASCAR race rolls in it’s like a city popping up over night.
If it goes well create some working relationship for one or two big events every year that share weekends and cities.
I think the northern and western cities would have more cross over fans. I dont think there is many MMA fans in the southern cities or with old school race fans. But i think there could be cross over fans with the new generation of nascar fans. Has the UFC ever had an event the same weekend as the Las Vegas race?
I don’t believe the UFC has ever had an event in Vegas during the same weekend as the NASCAR Vegas race.