UFC’s new frontier is a huge opportunity for everyone involved

Last month, when lawmakers in New York state voted to legalise Mixed Martial Arts, it was momentous news for UFC.

Given the huge growth in popularity and sponsorship over the last few years, UFC has become a globally recognised phenomenon counting fans from all over the world – fights have been staged in multiple different countries, and some fighters have become genuine global superstars. (Though not, apparently, in New York.)

From the beginning, UFC had been seen as something of a fringe sport fighting hard to earn its spot in the mainstream, though doing it without changing any of its principles: the rock n roll of the sporting world.

And until recently, the last hurdle to respectability seemed to be the state of New York, but UFC will now host its UFC 205 event in Madison Square Garden in New York City: perhaps the venue a sport like UFC would most like to call home.

To celebrate, the sport’s exclusive apparel partner, Reebok, have launched a line of clothing specifically for the event for the first time, including walkout and weigh-in apparel.

MMA is a growing sport, and UFC is becoming a huge brand, and if it can manage the glamour and glitz that some other huge sporting events have garnered at Madison Square Garden, it won’t be long before more brands want a piece of the action.

Becoming more and more mainstream means giving brands more reason to sign up to sponsor the product. But showcasing just what Reebok can do with its UFC sponsorship doesn’t just make the Reebok more visible, it acts as a sort of UFC advertisement to other brands who might fancy getting their name associated with the product – especially if that product can take offer the sort of slightly more gritty mainstream appeal that UFC is starting to gain.

Perhaps this first time in New York for UFC is the start of something new and exciting not just for the sport, but for a lot of savvy brands who want mainstream appeal with a rock n roll edge.

About author

Chris McMullan
Chris McMullan 831 posts

Chris is a sports journalist and editor of Digital Sport - follow him on Twitter @CJMcMullan_

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