In 2008, Forbes magazine valued the UFC/Zuffa LLC at 1 billion dollars. Since then, according to an interview UFC President Dana White did with the Indianapolis Star, that figure has nearly tripled with White estimating that the company is now worth around the 2.5 billion dollar range. This is an impressive growth margin for a company that has generally stuck to the same game plan over the last few years. If these numbers are indeed correct, it speaks volumes about the growth the sport has incurred in a short amount of time. The main difference I see in the UFC from 2008 is how boldly they have expanded. Selling a 10% share in the company to Flash Entertainment of Abu Dhabi to be able to properly position themselves in the Middle East and Asia must have been a wise investment, even though it is hard to gauge from here in the states.

Expansion to countries such as Germany, Australia, and Canada has been overwhelmingly positive upon first glance, and has no doubt been a success financially. The UFC is almost like a rock and roll band going on tour and winning over fans. Every new market it hits seems to be conquered by the hype and the trickle-down effect; it is undeniable.

It would be nice to see hard numbers to back up White’s claims, but even if he is exaggerating by a half billion, to have your company double in growth in 2 years is impressive. White agrees:

“The company is worth about $2.5 billion… I’ve been saying this since day one, and people really thought I was a lunatic, that this could be the biggest sport in the world. What I am surprised about is how fast this has happened. We haven’t even scratched the surface for how big this thing is going to be. I don’t consider us mainstream yet. Mainstream, to me, is if you walked out into the main street of any major city in America and asked them what “American Idol” is. Everyone can tell you what “American Idol” is. Not everyone can tell you what UFC is…Any time we go to a new market, it’s so much fun. When those [fans] leave, they will go infect another 10 to 15 people with what they saw there that night. That’s how this whole buzz keeps rolling. I call it spreading the virus.”

It should also be noted that White admitted that the company was 44 million dollars in debt at one point, which goes to show the business savvy behind the obvious muscle the UFC usually flexes in their dealings. When I see a company turning losses of that magnitude into substantial gains, it shows me that mistakes were made and then corrected and learned from.

It remains to be seen how high the ceiling is for the UFC. Will they ever reach the mainstream like White hopes for? I am inclined to think so, but that could be the fan in me hoping everyone else joins the party. Realistically, it is much easier to market the singing hopefuls of American Idol to the country than two guys fighting each other, but if the UFC can sustain their growth, they will be knocking on the door in no time.

Please post any questions or comments you may have and don’t forget to follow me on twitter @zachlipari.

The UFC Boasts Big Earnings from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

It looks like UFC president, Dana White has a new reason to be smiling. Not only have the last few UFC events been extremely successful and entertaining, accompanied by a sold out and much hyped UFC fan expo in Boston this past weekend, but he was just invited to be the guest speaker this year at Oxford University’s annual debate club event. The 187-year-old Oxford Union Society has asked White to speak on October 13th, which coincides with UFC 120: Bisping vs Akiyama on Spike TV live from London.

The society has been known for its ties to the upper tiers of politics, and past speakers include Sir Winston Churchill, Robert Kennedy and Yasser Arafat. Other past speakers at the club are former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, as well as Malcolm X, Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.

White said he’s expecting to respond to tough questions with straight answers.

“Anyone who knows anything about me knows I always speak my mind and am very passionate about what I do, and the Oxford Union was founded on exactly those principles,” White said in a statement released by UFC. “I’m looking forward to meeting the students, and I know they have a reputation for asking tough questions and expecting straight answers from their guests. That’s exactly what they’ll get from me.”

“As president of UFC, Dana has created a billion dollar global sports company in less than a decade and we look forward to hearing his take on the rise of the UFC and giving us greater insight into this phenomenon,” said Ash Sangha, the group’s vice president, according to the statement from the UFC through the AP. White also will visit the Oxford Union Library and meet with Oxford Entrepreneurs, another campus student society, during his visit.

This is an honor for White, who has obviously set himself apart from his major league competitors with his candor and business acumen. Reading the article on ESPN brought a smile to my face, since this time honored organization has recognized the hard work and good nature of the UFC and gets it. What do I mean by ‘gets it?’  They are not put off by the swearing or the violent nature of the sport, but understand that what they are seeing is a brutally honest take on running a professional sports organization that is rising faster than any other; as well as a fun, intelligent person to have a debate with.

(Credit: ESPN.COM, UFC.COM)

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UFC President to Join U.S. Presidents from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

MMA’s biggest agent (and SAB interviewee), Ken Pavia along with the up-start Bellator fighting promotion have been sued by UFC parent company, Zuffa LLC. The suit alleges that Pavia passed along trade secrets and confidential Zuffa documents to upstart MMA promotion Bellator. Zuffa believes that Bellator used these documents to help run their business. Bellator is named as a co-defendant in the suit, as well as other unnamed individuals and corporations that Zuffa alleges participated in breach of contract.

Yahoo Sports Writes:

According to the suit, filed Wednesday in Clark County District Court, Pavia delivered confidential contracts, including fighter agreements, to Bellator after being asked to do so in a July 4 email to him from Bellator founder Bjorn Rebney…

An email which Zuffa’s lawsuit alleges is from Rebney to Pavia on July 4 was attached as an exhibit to the 16-page suit. In it, Rebney writes, ” … You’ve been great about sending us ‘All’ of the seminal docs from the UFC, so that we can re-do them and implement them for Bellator.”

Later, the email Zuffa alleges to have been written by Rebney continues, “Please list each in terms of what it is for and how the UFC uses them/implements them. … Then I’m going to have our team Monday re-type them and we will sufficiently alter them such that they will appear to be ours and not theirs.”

The response that is purported to have come from Pavia is brief and says, in its entirety, “Still I (sic) vegas. May take 24 hours to organize as some forms go to the guys in my office.”…

According to the suit, “The improper disclosure of Zuffa’s operations documents and confidential information by Pavia, MMA Agents, and the Doe and Roe Defendants constitutes a distinct act of dominion wrongfully exerted over Zuffa’s personal property.”

It further states, “The improper use by Bellator of Zuffa’s operational documents and confidential information in order to conduct its competing business operations constitutes a distinct act of dominion wrongfully exerted over Zuffa’s personal property.”

Zuffa seeks actual and punitive damages and a permanent injunction barring Bellator or Pavia from using Zuffa’s assets, including its intellectual property.

One can’t help but wonder why someone would go against the UFC in any way. If there is one characteristic of the way the UFC does business, it is that they have a ton of pride and much like their fighters, would enjoy nothing more than to beat their adversaries into submission. I would also venture to say that agents dealing with the UFC in the future will probably be subject to stricter rules and scrutiny as a result of this alleged oversight by Mr. Pavia. Hopefully this doesn’t close the doors of Bellator, since I happen to think they are a great minor league fight promotion with a lot of potential.

Please post any questions or comments you may have below and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @ZachLipari

MMA Agent Ken Pavia Sued by UFC from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Kudos to the Atlanta Falcons for being the first professional sports team to implement their own team-sponsored MMA training program in their off-season workouts. This is a voluntary workout program run by MMAthletics, a company founded by FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer and UFC legend Randy Couture. As the popularity of the UFC and MMA as a sport has grown over the last few years, MMA training has been on the rise in the NFL. Athletes looking for an edge when it comes to strength, both physical and mental toughness, and explosiveness, need to look no farther than the full body workout that is mixed martial arts. Developing the “fighter mentality” into the NFL players seems to be the ultimate goal of MMAthletics who take a break you down to build you up approach to their training.

“If you hit me once, I’m gonna hit you back five times,” Glazer said of importing a MMA mentality to the NFL. “When the cage door shuts, your job is to break the will of the man across from you. It’s the same with football. When the game starts, essentially that cage door shuts. It’s your responsibility not to lose. We find what a player’s breaking point is and re-establish it every few days. By the end, football has become easy.”

It makes sense for teams to enlist the services of the MMAthletics team. Instead of an individual player going out on his own and participating with whatever random MMA gym he finds, this method allows teams to supervise the workouts to make sure that their player safety is coming first. Also, I believe that instead of working out individually, participating as a team will surely help to build comradery. Players aren’t sparring with one another during these workouts, and it coincides with OTA’s and other team activities, so it doesn’t interfere with the football side of things.

Falcon linebacker, Curtis Lofton had this to say about the MMAtheltics training program,

“You get some great conditioning out of it. Plus, there’s a lot of carryover to what we do on the field. We do some Muay Thai for core-muscle and hip development, wrestling, working on our hands and getting guys off you. We work on body leverage, too, which is important. Whoever is the lowest man controls the other man. It’s really intense. This is our second workout for the day. Some of this is just pushing it to do whatever else you’ve got to do to get better.”

Even the head coach of the team, Mike Smith, is embracing this new form of training and is impressed with the early results.

“There’s a lot of carry-over to football with some of the disciplines they were talking about — wrestling, leverage (drills) and martial arts with the kicks to open up hip flexibility. That sparked my interest. I felt if guys were going to go out and do this on their own, why not bring this service into our team and make it available for the guys? I’m very impressed with what’s happened the first two weeks. I think the players are really enjoying it. It’s just another part of their repertoire of things they can do to prepare themselves for a long 16-game season.”

I look forward to more teams participating in such training and think it could even lead to a rise in post-football career MMA fighters. It will be interesting to see how this affects the Falcons performance this upcoming season since the NFL is a copycat league where teams rely on immediate results to gauge their successes.

Click here to watch a video of Matt Leinart training with MMAthletics.

Please post any questions or comments you may have and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @ZachLipari

The NFL Takes to the Cage from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

This past Saturday, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) staged their first pay-per-view event, live from Sacramento, California. The event was a huge success given the fact that the last few weeks had seen disappointing main events put on by the UFC, and all out chaos by Strikeforce on national television. The event sold for $44.95, which some people thought was a steep price given the cache of the organization and the fact that their fighters are nowhere near the UFC, so why should consumers pay UFC prices? What viewers got was a night full of exciting fights and remarkable performances that showcased fighters who are hungry to make a name for themselves. 150-200k pay-per-view purchases have been reported since the event aired, which I would think has to be considered a success in addition to a solid foundation to build off of. This event was different from past WEC events; however, and it also may have signaled a sign of things to come for the organization.

WEC was purchased by UFC parent company, Zuffa LLC in December of 2006. After the merger, the WEC quickly dissolved their heavier weight classes to focus on lighter weight classes. To the MMA fan, the WEC is a smaller version of the UFC with divisions such as Bantamweight, Flyweight, and Featherweight – with only lightweight as a cross-over division with the UFC. Speculation of a full merger with the UFC to absorb all of the weight classes has persisted since the purchase, but until this past weekend, it seemed unfounded.

This WEC event was widely marketed by the UFC and featured a slew of UFC staples to its broadcast to further tie the companies together. Missing was WEC signage and promotions, giving way to vague terminology such as “the organization” when referring to the WEC. UFC commentators, fighters, ring announcers, and prelims aired on Spike TV, the home of the UFC (Verus carries WEC events). All signs point to an eventual merger of the organizations, which I believe would give the UFC more flexibility in putting on more events, but I also think it makes it more difficult from a fight booking standpoint to accommodate all divisions and fighters as frequently as the UFC is used to.

There is a ton of talent in the WEC. As demonstrated Saturday, with the level of excitement in every fight, the lighter weight classes provide high energy bouts with seemingly no slowing down – exactly what the fans pay to see. UFC President, Dana White acted as the sole promoter of the event, and it is my belief that they have set themselves up quite nicely in building a name and reputation for the WEC before it is eventually folded into the UFC. If the merger of the WEC into the UFC were to happen, it would provide a greater opportunity for fighters as well as fighter managers and agents to have a better chance of getting a piece of the UFC pie with an increased talent pool. As of now, there is no timetable for something like this to happen, but I would look for a move to be made sooner rather than later, especially if the WEC continues to perform the way it has.

Click here to watch a video of Dana White discussing the WEC.

Please post any questions or comments you may have and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @ZachLipari

WEC = UFC? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The first MMA blog I did for Sports Agent Blog dealt with the fallout from a disappointing main event and how it affects the sports as a whole. The UFC is the 800 pound gorilla of MMA and when something happens on the biggest stage in the sport, people react. Imagine a Superbowl where one team shows up seemingly only to taunt the other team and not do what is necessary to win. People would be outraged, and rightfully so, have they no sense of humility or respect? Such was the case this past weekend with the main event at UFC 112: Invincible, from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

I have documented how important global expansion is for the UFC and how Flash Entertainment of the United Arab Emirates purchased a 10% stake in the company to be able to bring it to their side of the world and introduce it to a new audience. Expectations were higher than ever with an arena being built specifically for the UFC to be able to properly showcase the sport. The night featured two title defenses and a slew of other good fights to try to put on the best show possible. The first main event pitted Lightweight Champion, BJ Penn against number one contender, Frankie Edgar. The fight went the distance to a decision that awarded Edgar the belt, with one judge scoring the fight 50-45, or every round for Edgar, which was clearly not what happened. Controversy aside, the fight was kind of boring from the standpoint that we’re used to seeing more out of Penn, which had people clamoring for an exciting main event; Demian Maia against Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva.

I was skeptical of this fight before the event started. I’ve seen Silva shrug of Jujitsu specialists in the past, not taking them seriously, and that leads to five rounds of wanting more. This time was a little different. Silva wasn’t as aloof as in the Thales Leites fight, but instead, he was downright disrespectful, taunting his opponent with curses and showboating that would make Chad Ochocinco embarrassed. When Silva did engage, he was brilliant, but it seemed that he became bored and instead of finishing the fight to get it over with, he threw on his cruise control in the 3rd round and never looked back. Imploring Maia to fight with him, then seemingly running away when he tried, made people angry fast.

Silva won a decision even though he didn’t act like a champion, and the night with so much promise that was to lead the UFC into the Middle East, ended in a chorus of boos – hardly the way UFC President Dana White and the rest of the MMA world had expected. This fight marked the first time White walked out on a main event and handed the championship belt to the fighter’s manager instead of presenting the fighter with it himself. In the post-fight press conference, White dove right into the subject stating, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more embarrassed in the ten years of being in this business.” He then went on a rant that was ultimately more exciting than the fight, which I personally think is a good quality of a league official instead of taking a hard PR stand to actually talk to the viewing public and press as he is a fan as well is refreshing, and leads me to believe something will get done to insure that the fans don’t get screwed again.

I personally think Anderson Silva should vacate or be stripped of his Middleweight belt and be left to fight in either the Light-Heavyweight or Heavyweight division, since he is clearly bored with the Middleweight competition to the point where the fights aren’t competitive. Silva is widely considered the best fighter in the sport, and for the UFC this is a huge problem in advancing their product. Lebron James isn’t going to look across the floor at the Knicks and think that he is so much better that he resorts to trick shots and showboating. He respects his sport and is going to put up a 50 point triple-double and remind everyone how good he is. I respect that the UFC won’t stand for this, but it makes one wonder how much damage has been done to the trust of the viewing public that feel cheated by the events of UFC 112. I know personally, since I had the event double as the house warming party for my apartment, that people were annoyed and upset by the end of it – something that was embarrassing for me so I can only imagine how bad Dana White wanted to just run and hide after that fight, and I commend him for making the statements afterwards. Hopefully something will get done from a fight booking standpoint, because although every fight can’t be a classic, the main event should at least be competitive.

Anderson vs Fedor anybody?

View the video of Dana White’s post fight press conference here.

Please post any questions or comments you may have and follow me on Twitter @ZachLipari

UFC 112: The Aftermath from Abu Dhabi from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Toney was an accomplished boxer in his day. Holding belts in three separate weight classes, he was perhaps most famous for his 1994 super fight against Roy Jones Jr. Now Toney wants to mix it up for the UFC at the ripe age of 41, and one has to ask, why? I understand why James Toney would want to do this; the man is a fighter and the UFC is big business, but why is the UFC getting in bed with a fighter who has no MMA training and doesn’t really care to train MMA (even though he hired Juanito Ibarra, which wont make any difference) and that will bring a great deal of attention to the sport of MMA? Sounds like the UFC just took a step back to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching two guys stand up and fight each other, but the big picture here is that you want to legitimize the sport, not create a circus side show.

Adding to the craziness is that UFC legend and former champion, Randy Couture, has come out to say he would like to be Toney’s first test. Hopefully that doesn’t happen. The potential for viewers would be extremely high, but there has to be some deeper reasoning there and hopefully Dana White has the conscience to never make that fight happen. The potential for a good fight lies with another striker, but if James Toney was ever to win inside the octagon, I would have to believe that there would be no weight class to hold his ego.

Maybe I’m taking this too seriously. In the end, I just like to watch good fights, but I have an appreciation for smart business decisions and I don’t think that this is one of them. Dana White came out against Herschel Walker fighting MMA and that man was as dedicated to training and respectful of the sport as you can get. As always, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Right now, however, it looks like the heavyweight division just got louder.

Please continue to post any questions or comments you may have and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @zachlipari.

James Toney Signs a UFC Contract from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

“It would be a huge benefit to us if mixed martial arts became an Olympic sport,” White said. “It would create instant awareness around the world, and it would be huge.

“I would support it 100 per cent. I personally am not out there trying to get mixed martial arts as an Olympic sport … but if it popped and they said, ‘Yes, we’re thinking about it,’ I would go guns ablazing and try to make it happen.”

I think it would be great to see MMA as an Olympic event. It would legitimize the sport while showing that the IOC cares about staying current and fresh. My concerns are that on such a big stage, people will certainly condemn the sport for being too violent, unless there are rule changes, which I would almost guarantee there would be if something like this was to happen. If MMA was to become a Olympic sport, but modified to IOC rules, I don’t see Dana White being as supportive then. What I would like to see in the meantime is some of the higher level fighters competing at their strongest discipline for their country. How cool would it be to see George St. Pierre suit up for Canada against the American, Jon Fitch in a pure wrestling match? Something like that would be great to watch and could still serve to legitimize the sport, since it would be obvious to people who think that UFC fighters are just brawlers, that these men are unbelievably skilled, trained athletes.

Please continue to post any questions or comments you may have and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @zachlipari.

MMA a Future Olympic Sport? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

If I was an NFL agent and represented a player who was maybe on a practice squad or in danger of being cut, would I suggest MMA to him as a career alternative? I would have to say no. If the player was genuinely interested in pursuing MMA, I would help him make the most educated decisions possible and support his decision, but as a fan of MMA, I don’t think that being good at football predispositions you to being good at fighting.

Another concern I have about former athletes throwing their hat into the Octagon is that, for the more famous ones, it could end up becoming a side show, something I believe would be bad for the sports credibility. After Herschel Walker’s success on Saturday, Jose Canseco has come out to essentially challenge him to a fight. Obviously looking for some publicity and a potential pay-day, Canseco represents everything that is wrong with athletes wanting to participate in MMA. I have great respect for what Herschel Walker has accomplished, especially at his age. Training with the American Kickboxing Academy and putting in the hard work necessary to go out and earn a win is admirable, and if others can come to the sport, be humble and take the time to learn, then I will support them as well.

Please continue to post any questions or comments you may have and follow me on Twitter @zachlipari

Does the NFL Have a Place in MMA? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Dana White describes the new UFC Gym as not being a “fighters gym.” What he means by this is that people who might be interested in learning Muay Thai kick boxing but may be intimidated by going to a Muay Thai gym can feel comfortable learning at the UFC Gym, where they can learn with other people who are taking a more casual approach, as well. With an Octagon available for classes as well as more unconventional training such as the “caveman workout,” which involves truck tires and sledge hammers, this gym seems to have all of its bases covered for every commitment level. Also, where I think the gym will thrive is with its youth training section geared towards kids, which involves the technology to keep things interesting for them while learning martial arts and practicing fitness.

I happen to think this is a great business venture for the UFC from both a fan’s perspective as well as a business perspective. Capitalizing on a niche market in a multi-billion dollar per year industry isn’t always an option, and I think the UFC has done a great job recognizing the need for something like this. A spokesperson for the UFC has gone on record stating that they hope to open as many as 10 of these gyms nationwide in 2010 with possible locations in Toronto and Hawaii.

As I am writing this, I wonder if the NFL possibly missed out on an opportunity to throw its hat into the fitness industry. I think that the UFC is in a special place because while working out like a UFC fighter can sound pretty intense, starting at a beginner level is more interesting and useful towards fitness than anything else. It is hard for me to picture NFL combine training at anything less than full speed for people looking for a little bit of a change to their normal routines. The NFL, I suppose, is better suited with programs such as Play 60 which is geared towards children, or player-run football camps, but I do believe with the right business plan could possibly make a splash if they ever wanted to.

It will be interesting to monitor the success of this new venture and to see if it expands into other products such as health supplements or home workout equipment. For the moment though, I definitely like my neighborhood gym a lot less.

Check out a video of the UFC Gym here.

Please post any questions or comments you may have and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @zachlipari

The UFC Opens Its First Gym from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules