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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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Yesterday, speculation about the future of UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar ended with Lesnar appearing on SportsCenter to provide details about what had happened to him. Lesnar was scheduled to fight number one contender Shane Carwin for the heavyweight title back in November of 2009, but during his training, he had fallen ill with no explanation for his ailments. After a few weeks of trying to push through his symptoms including pain and fever, Lesnar came to the decision that he couldn’t proceed with the fight. In order to heal and relax, Lesnar traveled to his ranch in Canada where doctors diagnosed him with having mononucleosis. Rumors had circulated, at the time, that Lesnar had caught the swine flu, but nothing seemed clear from a fan’s standpoint because no information was verified. The mononucleosis diagnosis turned out to be a poor one and Lesnar traveled back to the United States to be treated here, where after many studies, the doctors concluded that he had diverticulosis, which is essentially a hole in his stomach – something that should have lead to surgery to remove his colon and leave him with a colostomy bag, essentially ending his career in the UFC.

Before preforming this recommended surgery, the doctors had given Brock a variety of medications and wanted to see how he healed on his own. When returning to be examined, Lesnar had no signs at all of any stomach ailments and after what doctors and Dana White have described as a medical miracle, Lesnar is set to resume his UFC career this summer.

Since Lesnar has been out of UFC action for so long, the UFC has set up an interim heavyweight belt fight between Shane Carwin and former champion, Frank Mir to take place at UFC 111 in Newark, NJ on March 27th. Lesnar is set to face the winner of that fight barring any injury to them where then he would fight the winner of the Cain Velasquez vs Nogueira at UFC 110 instead. Either way, Brock is back and UFC fans who have been expecting bad news for the last few months can take a deep breath because it looks like everything is back to normal for the champ.

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Once again, I have to believe that the UFC is ahead of the curve on this front. Fighters, in addition to working for the UFC, are their own brand and websites such as Twitter can help the fighter to directly grow their own personal iamge and receive more exposure. There are different, creative ways for a fighter to use Twitter and other social networking sites to actually make money for themselves. A fighter can tweet about their sponsor or hold sponsored contests through their Twitter account as an incentive for people to follow them and to pay attention, leading to increased value for the fans, the fighter, and the sponsoring company. UFC hall of famer and former champion, Chuck Liddell has even taken the next step and has developed MMAJacked.com a site specifically designed to connect Mixed Martial Arts fighters to their fans on a more personal level. Dana White frequently participates in “Twitter Tag,” an idea that was developed for Shaquille O’Neal by Digital Royalty that allows fans to find you in a public place such as a mall, or restaurant based on your tweets, usually for a prize, or in Dana White’s case, tickets to a UFC event. Georges St. Pierre’s Twitter account isn’t personally run by him, but his handlers had the idea to have fans e-mail Georges during his training by clicking a link that required you to sign up for his fan site before sending the e-mail, which ultimately attracted thousands of new fans.

The UFC is now more accessible than any other sports organization on a personal level. Everyone from the ring girls, to the announcers, to the fighters, to ownership all have highly personal Twitter accounts that are more than just company fluff and that actually give you insight into their lives and opinions which helps us, as fans, relate to them. As social media technology grows I am confident that the UFC will always be at the forefront and it will be interesting to see different business plans develop around these websites.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the UFC is planning on taking its product to a global market in far reaching countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Australia. The fact remains; however, that the UFC still can’t legally hold events in some of the states here in the United Sates. The biggest fight the UFC might face all year will take place outside of the octagon, and instead in Albany, NY where lobbyists and industry executives will try to persuade the Legislature to legalize the popular sport in New York State. This past week, the UFC was finally granted the approval to hold fights in Massachusetts; huge news for the company and northeastern United States MMA fans.

Massachusetts has become the 42nd state to legalize and regulate MMA, which will now fall under the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission. The bill was signed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick this past week. UFC president Dana White updated his Twitter confirming the good news November 30, and was especially excited because Boston was where he grew up. White and the UFC are already planning events for 2010 and looking at Fenway Park or the TD Garden Arena as possible venues.

New York fans and the UFC alike are hopeful that 2010 will be the year for MMA regulation in the state. This year, the UFC has rethought its strategy and developed a pricey study that says hosting fights in Buffalo or Manhattan would produce millions of dollars for the cities at a time when the state’s economy is staggering under the weight of its current recession. The UFC has retained an influential lobbying firm and sent out its top executives to explain the sport to New York legislators.

Personally, being from New York City, I can not wait for MMA to come to New York. A UFC event at Madison Square Garden would be a tremendous fan experience and I believe would greatly benefit the state and the UFC financially. Boxing won’t bring their top fights to New York due to greed amongst fighters. The potential of a Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao fight would be a huge draw, but will never happen in New York due to state taxes that would cut too deeply into the fighters purses. Marquee UFC fighters such as Brock Lesnar or Georges St. Pierre would never question fighting on such an important card and the sport is better because of that. In the meantime, I will continue to monitor the events and hope to have good news in the near future regarding the subject.

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It is easy to make the argument that the UFC is the fastest rising sport in the country and possibly in the world. For someone who is looking to get into the sports industry, it could seem like a potential “gravy train” to financial success. With the landscape of potential major league clients diluted due to heavy competition, MMA may look like a nice alternative to leagues such as the NFL or MLB for prospective agents, managers, or companies. I decided to look a little deeper into the cash flow of a UFC fighter, and his potential to make money down the line.

Just like in major league sports, you have your stars and your role players, your rookies and your veterans. With the UFC; however, the gap is a little larger and the talent pool is a lot smaller. The UFC signs its fighters to contracts based on number of fights and not years like in major league sports. A rookie contract is greatly reduced from that of an established veteran, unlike football where a rookie can come in and be paid millions of dollars before stepping foot on a field. The contracts aren’t guaranteed, and if you find yourself in a losing slump, you will be looking to work elsewhere fast. For most fighters though, you get paid to show (fight) and you get paid to win. Usually the figures are the same to show and to win, so a loss could mean half of your potential purse for the fight. The UFC also offers fight bonuses as added incentives for their fighters. Fight bonuses are rewarded for the fight of the night, knockout of the night, and submission of the night and could be substantial to a fighter. It is the UFC’s way to sweeten the pot for a good fight.

After looking at salary figures from the last few Pay Per View events, it seems that the average fighter’s salary ranges from around $6,000 to $35,000 to show and to win, hardly a fraction of an NFL game check. Marquee fighters who have re-negotiated their rookie contracts earn in the lower six figure range, with the top level salary per fight that I have seen topping out at $500,000. Fight bonuses usually vary, but range between $50,000 to $70,000, a potential substantial bonus for someone in the lower pay range. A fighter could also be awarded multiple bonuses for a fight, which could make for a huge pay day. This past weekend, UFC Welterweight Josh Koscheck earned both fight of the night and submission of the night bonuses for his win over Anthony Johnson. Koscheck’s salary for the fight was $53,000 to show and $53,000 to win, and added to the $70,000 per bonus award, equaled a total of $246,000. Not bad for a night’s work, but hardly the norm.

It is safe to say that fighters make most of their money through endorsements. Companies pay good money to advertise their brand on a fighter through some sort of signage or apparel. I was curious to see how much fighters could potentially make through these kind of endorsements. After looking into it I found some numbers for Joe Lauzon, a ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ veteran and mid-level UFC fighter with not too much name cache’ but someone who was certainly going to be on T.V. The numbers are as follows:

• Team hat: $5,000
• Front of team shirt (entire front): $15,000
• Back of shirt:
  • Top banner (large font, across entire shirt): $1,000
  • Small banners (about 8 total): $500
• Fight Shorts:
  • Butt banner $5,000
  • Outside sides of thighs, front or back: $3,500 each (there’s 4)
  • Inside of thighs (4 available): $2,500

These numbers, when added up equal $54,000, which was likely more than Joe made for the entire fight. Remember this is for a mid-level fighter, so I would have to think that fighters such as Chuck Liddell and Brock Lesnar, etc are making in the six to seven figure range for their sponsorships in addition to their fight salary and potential bonuses. If you were someone who wanted to get into the business of MMA and represent fighters, it would be your job to secure these sponsors for your fighters, and would also most likely be your main source of revenue.

Fighters could also take these sponsorships, and with the help of a good manager, turn them into endorsement deals. Print ads, commercials, and online signage is a very profitable business and could be a great way to add increased revenue for your fighter. Also, endorsement deals are different from sponsorship deals in the sense that the UFC doesn’t ban their fighters from endorsing brands, but have recently put certain sponsors on their own little blacklist at UFC events. Brands who have challenged the UFC in some way, big or small, have found themselves on the outs with the UFC, and it can affect some fighters profoundly. The UFC can justify this by saying that in other promotions, the sponsorship dollars don’t even come close since the UFC is so popular. They feel that controlling sponsorships is perfectly justified. There was talk around UFC 100 that the UFC was going to charge potential sponsors $100,000 for the right to sponsor a fighter at the event because of the sheer magnitude of the night. Is this any different than the NFL charging millions of dollars for 30 second commercials during the Superbowl? That is to be debated, but is something to be considered if you are a company looking to get involved.

There is money to be made if you are a fighter or represent a fighter in the UFC. Compared to other professional sports organizations and boxing, the UFC still seems to be on the lower side of things as far as compensation for their athletes, but for a privately owned company who puts on and promotes their own events, it is reasonable for the moment. Still, some fights feature fighters who make $300,000 against fighters who are making $30,000, something I wouldn’t exactly call fair, especially when the $30,000 fighter wins. Such is life in the UFC at the moment, and one would think it is just going to get better as it gets bigger.

Please post any questions or comments and have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Follow me on Twitter @Zachlipari

After a successful weekend in Manchester, England for UFC 105, the UFC will look to continue its growth around the world. In the last year, the UFC has traveled to Canada, England, and Germany, but plans to take the sport to countries such as Italy, France, Australia, and even Abu-Dhabi (the capital of the United Arab Emirates) in the near future. This a very smart and ambitious move for the UFC and could prove to be the groundwork for a global phenomenon years down the line.

This past weekend’s fights were received very positively by the U.K. fan-base; they see that the UFC has been growing steadily for the last few years. The sport of mixed martial arts was very new to the British fans when the UFC first came over, but a few short years later, it has become one of the more popular sports in the country with local stars such as Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy leading the way. Earlier this year, the UFC flagship program, “The Ultimate Fighter” featured a season where it matched up U.S. Fighters against U.K. Fighters, a first for the program. In the end, it was the U.K. who came out on top, showing the kind of effect that expanding globally can have on not only the bottom line as far as dollars for the UFC, but also on their roster of fighters and worldwide talent. UFC president Dana White summed up the road the UFC has traveled in England so far:

“I came here six or seven years ago to try and kick start mixed martial arts in the U.K.,” “When I came over here, nobody knew what it was. There really wasn’t any talent over here. In just six or seven years, we pack a stadium like this tonight.” (With 16,693 spectators packed into Manchester Evening News Arena, UFC 105 became the highest-attended European event in the history of the UFC. )

White also added:

“The other thing about tonight that blows me away is how educated the crowd was, how educated the fans here in the U.K. have become. When guys get side-control and the guy gets back in full-guard, they start cheering. They’re very educated in the ground game. They’re very educated on the fights. It’s amazing how fast this country has come around.”

The UFC will look to bring its brand of fighting to other countries the same way it introduced it here in the United States. Through its reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC will put on regional versions of the show and is actively trying to work out T.V. deals that will put the UFC into millions of new homes.

“My job is over the next 10 years, the same game of soccer that we play in the U.S. is the same game they play in Canada, Mexico, Spain, Italy, France, etc., and that’s what we’re doing with mixed martial arts right now,” White said. “Everywhere you go all over the world, it’s the same sport, and everybody plays by the same rules. We’re trying to get these television deals in all these countries, major TV deals exposing the fans to it, then you bring a live event to those places. Then the virus spreads and people start training at it, trying to make a living at it, eventually becoming professional athletes. That’s what we’re going to do over the next 10 years.”

“How do we plug this whole thing in with television and how to watch it everywhere? We’re trying to figure that whole thing out and build that now. But the groundwork for this thing is ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and we’ve been working it very hard, and we’re making it happen. ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ is going to be all over the world. That’s the goal.”

The list of possible regions for the UFC to explore is endless, as martial arts and fighting in some form, is kind of a universal language. Expansion hasn’t been totally problem free, however. White, and the UFC have faced challenges in the past when trying to come into a new market or country. When they went to Germany for the first time earlier this year, they were received well by fans, but country officials were deeming the sport too brutal or dangerous and opposed what the UFC was trying to do. This stigma that the UFC carries is mainly from its beginnings as a no-holds-barred fight sport in the early 1990’s before White ever stepped foot into the company and changed it from top to bottom. I think this is really the only thing that could slow down the UFC’s quest to enter new markets as some local government officials could try to ban it, but the UFC has a team of public relations experts that I would have to believe is up to the task. I think that White is the kind of person who won’t rest until his company’s goals are accomplished, and that 10 years from now, we will see unprecedented growth from this sport internationally.

One last quote from Dana White, because as you start to follow the UFC, you will see that he comes up with some interesting (to say the least) things to say.

“Randy Couture fought in the U.K. tonight and got a [expletive] standing ovation. People went crazy for this American. You don’t ever see that [expletive], and you haven’t seen that since the Mike Tyson days. People are feeling that way all over the world about lots of guys, whether it’s Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, the guys from the U.K., a Canadian. [Expletive Georges St- Pierre] is going to fight Dan Hardy. ‘GSP’ got a warm ovation from the crowd. You don’t see that [expletive] in any other sport. So, there’s a lot of potential globally here to do some cool [ expletive].”

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On November 5^th, UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre signed a multi-year endorsement deal with athletic apparel powerhouse Under Armour. St-Pierre, known by his fans as GSP, is one of the UFC’s most talented and marketable fighters and will be featured in a national campaign for the industry giant. Outfitted in Under Armour’s ColdGear performance apparel designed to protect athletes in cold temperatures, St. Pierre will serve as the poster boy for mainstream MMA. Beginning in the spring of 2010, St-Pierre will also become the face of Under Armour’s long-time top-selling BoxerJock and BoxerBrief underwear line and will become one of the primary figures for Under Armour’s Recharge suit, a suit designed to re-energize your body, promote muscle repair, and reduce swelling following a workout.

This endorsement is the second huge signing for St. Pierre, who signed with Gatorade last year shortly after being the first MMA fighter to sign with CAA Sports. It marks continued growth for the sport of MMA and puts a mixed martial artist in the conversation with figures from other mainstream sports such as professional football, baseball, and basketball. “Not only is Georges one of the biggest stars in one of the fastest growing sports in the world, but his dedication to training and making himself the best at what he does aligns perfectly with our Brand’s mission to make all athletes better,” stated Steve Battista, Under Armour Senior Vice President. “When we found out that he was a fan of ours, we jumped on the opportunity to bring him into the Under Armour family.”

I, for one, love the idea of MMA getting its due in the world of mainstream advertising. Very few athletes train as hard as some of the better fighters such as St. Pierre and there is a lot of money to be made by associating with a marketable fighter and growing your demographic. The sport of mixed martial arts is growing rapidly with gyms and training facilities opening up left and right, so it makes sense and is very smart for a brand such as Under Armour to seize the opportunity to be associated with it before other brands like Nike or Adidas catch on. NFL players such as Shawn Merriman and Calvin Pace have looked to MMA recently for their personal training and if the trend continues, the “MMA workout” could be the next big thing with Under Armour at the helm.

The UFC has recently debuted their new UFC Gym division to try and take advantage of the market for combat fitness, while MMA apparel leader Tapout has also just started to produce health and fitness performance supplements after years of just selling clothing and fight gear. This recent turn to fitness and performance has opened up endless possibilities for MMA in the multi-billion dollar fitness industry and could possibly lead to growth of the sport as a whole.

It will be interesting to see how things develop in the next three years in regards to MMA as a form of major brand advertising. Will large companies such as Under Armour just use fighters for print advertising, or will they get into the expensive business of sponsoring the fighters for their training and on their fight nights or become major sponsors for the UFC as a whole? Bud Light and Harley Davidson were some of the first big name sponsors to come on in recent year,s but to have a company such as Under Armour, or one day Nike, associated with the sport could give it some validation in the eyes of the mainstream sports fan.

I am interested in hearing what you guys think and how you perceive MMA on this site, so leave comments and hopefully we can spark a discussion.