Affliction Formal Announcement

The national roll out for Affliction's Banned pay-per-view event will begin May 20 & 22 with press conferences in Los Angeles and New York. Scheduled to appear are Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Syliva, Ben Rothwell, Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Matt Lindland, Fabio Nascimento, Babalu Sobral, and Mike Whitehead. The events are open to the public and will take place at the Westfield Mall in Century City (12:30 PM PST) and Trump Tower (10:30 AM EST) respectively.

The event is scheduled for July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

IFL Puts the Hex on MMA; Looking for New Partners

Last week the IFL announced its plans to debut a new fighting surface later this year. The six-sided ring will be called the Hex. The ring verses the cage is a hotly debated topic in the MMA community as far as each surface's affect on competition and safety, however, the IFL's move is clearly about branding.

Traditional over-sized boxing rings say boxing, kick boxing, maybe even professional wrestling, but definitely not MMA. The cage says MMA, but maybe more specifically the UFC. The Hex seems to be a compromise designed to solve both branding problems, a surface clearly distinguishable from boxing and the rest of MMA and entirely unique to the IFL.

I still think MMA happens in a cage and other things that aren't seen as MMA happen in a ring, despite how many sides it has. The cage produces a visceral reaction that is a negative for IFL CEO Jay Larkin, but is a positive for the 18-34 male demographic that watches the sport. The only convincing argument against the cage and in favor of the ring was the idea that mainstream partners, television and otherwise, were uneasy being associated with the violence imagery of a cage. With CBS and Budweiser in the cage, that argument appears to be losing steam pending a major setback.

The biggest "news" of the press conference was Larkin's public declaration that the company is actively shopping the embattled company. "Are we actively looking for a partner or a sale? The answer is, yes," Larkin stated on the call according to MMAWeekly.com. "We entertain phone calls and questions almost on a daily basis from potential investors, potential buyers, people who want to get in the MMA business, people who are already in the MMA business."

Larkin also continued to push his bleaker, some would say more realistic, view of the current state of the MMA industry:

This harkens back to something I’ve been saying consistently, is that I do believe the MMA world is a fractured world, and the way to make it a healthier, stronger, and a mainstream sport and industry, is through consolidation and roll-up. There’s just too many little groups out there who are fighting over the same meatless bone.

News Wrap

• UFC Tackles Long Term Growth Issues - The last five pay-per-view events have produced three of the company's top ten events according to Dave Meltzer. UFC 79, 81, and 83 all drew between 525,000-650,000 buys and at $44.95. UFC 79 and 83 also produced the second and third largest gates in company history.
  
• Golden Boy Sticking to Boxing - Oscar de La Hoya recently said that Golden Boy will stick to boxing when asked about MMA.
  
• Viacom CEO Praises Iron Ring - Q1 profits for Viacom were up 33%. CEO Philippe Dauman said, "content creation is our central mission and our ongoing investments in programming are paying off as we see our television ratings continue to improve. Successful new programming across our networks during the first quarter included MTV's Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew, TV Land's High School Reunion and BET's Iron Ring among others, which joined new seasons of several proven audience favorites."
• Another Affliction Deal Falls Through - Negotiations with HDNet have reportedly fallen through. The promotion is now less than two months from its proposed first show and without a venue or television partner.
• UFC Targets Show for Latino Audience - El Octagono will debut on Galavision as the UFC attempts to expand MMA's demographic reach outside of 18-34 white males.
• WWE Q1 Results - Wrestlemania XXIV produced $31.3 million in revenue and $7.1 million in profits ($4.6 million net). The event drew 1,058,000 buys (including international).
  

Van Wagner Representing the UFC

MultiChannel reports that the UFC has inked a multi-year deal with Van Wagner Sports Group. Under terms of the deal, Van Wagner will help secure sponsorship opportunities for the UFC and WEC. The respected New York sports marketing firm's other clients include IMG, College Sports Television, World Cup Soccer, and Formula One Racing.

According to the article, "Van Wagner will work as an extension of the sales group of mixed martial arts franchises UFC and its sister MMA company World Extreme Cagefighting to help facilitate sponsorship deals for the organizations’ various pay-per-view and TV events."

UFC President Dana White on the deal:

We are pleased to be working with Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment in our venture to attract new media and sponsorships to the UFC and WEC. Fighting speaks every language and transcends every culture, and through this relationship with Van Wagner, we can increase visibility for UFC and the WEC – the biggest brands in the sport.

Fight Promoter U

Renown fight promoter Roy Englebrecht is now accepting enrollments for the fifth session of his famous Fight Promoter University which will take place November 21-24 in Irvine, California. Scheduled speakers include:

• Roy Englebrecht - owner of California's third largest boxing promotions company and former COO of Golden Boy Promotions.
• Richard Schaefer - CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.
• Armando Garcia - Executive Officer of the California State Athletic Commission

Click here for more information.

Fraud Against Fedor?

The Korea Times reports:

South Korean prosecutors indicted the local chief of a Russian martial arts agency for fraud Monday after he allegedly used the publicity rights of Fedor Emelianenko, the famed Russian mixed martial arts fighter, without consent.

Emelianenko filed the suit early this month over a "shoddy" honey commercial that went on air on Korean cable television featuring his image. The world heavyweight champion sought 1.55 billion won ($1.6 million) in compensation from the president of Korea Sambo Federation and the head of a local apiculture agency whose honey product the commercial promoted.

Zuffa Executive Speaks Out on International Expansion and Pro Wrestling Crossover

Fighting Spirit Magazine has a very candid interview with Marshall Zelaznik, President of Zuffa's United Kingdom division, Zuffa UK Limited. In addition to overseeing the company's UK expansion, Zelaznik is also responsible for extending the UFC brand internationally. The interview is one of the most revealing and candid ever given by a Zuffa executive. The interview is now available in its entirety on MMAPayout.com.

FULL INTERVIEW: Marshall's Law (Extended Version)

Affliction Commercial

Affliction Clothing is reportedly preparing for a national ad campaign roll out. A commercial featuring various fighters (MMA and boxing), musicians, and Affliction affiliated athletes is now available on the company's website. Featured fighters include Georges St. Pierre, Randy Couture, Quinton Jackson, Josh Barnett, and Fedor.

Crossover Appeal?: Mayweather-WWE & Silva-Jones

Crossover is the current buzzword in sports management. For today's athletes competitive accomplishments are merely a means to an end. Building a brand, reaching new audiences, and crossing over into the mainstream of American culture is the name of the game. As Matt Walker, agent for Randy Couture and Gina Carano, told FIGHT! Magazine, "most of these athletes at the end of the day want to take the celebrity that they’ve built on the field or through their sports and translate that into other opportunities whether that is business, entertainment, or whatever they may want to do.”

Cases in point: Floyd Mayweather and Anderson Silva. Mayweather is currently engaged in a month long tour of duty with WWE, culminating at Wrestlemania on March 30 in a match with the Big Show, while Silva has made news in recent weeks by challenging Roy Jones Jr to a boxing match. But all crossover opportunities are not created equally.

A $20 million appearance fee was floated by WWE and Mayweather's management as the original justification for Mayweather's WWE deal, but it has now become clear that his actual compensation is probably much closer to $2 million plus a pay-per-view bonus. The only remaining rationale is his manager's stated goal of exposing the boxer to WWE's audience of roughly 5 million viewers each week.

Thus far the mainstream buzz generated by the angle has been low with most of the exposure ambivalent at best. Furthermore, according to a recent marketing study cited in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, only the Jerry Springer show has a more negative image among advertisers than pro wrestling. Therefore it would appear that any benefit gained from WWE would be more than offset by the negative effect on Mayweather's brand of being associated with professional wrestling.

Mayweather's profile has never been higher coming off high profile fights with Oscar de La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, including valuable exposure on the critically acclaimed 24/7 promotional vehicle, as well as a spin on the last season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. On the heels of that type of mainstream exposure, professional wrestling seems like a step back, particularly with mainstream sponsors.

Silva's challenge of Jones Jr. on the other hand, while certainly risky and perhaps bordering on quixotic, has a tremendous potential upside for Silva and MMA. The first high profile meeting of a martial artist and boxer, whether in the cage or ring, is going to draw significant mainstream interest. Such a contest would legitimize MMA in the mainstream by elevating Silva to the same stature as a legendary boxer.

If Silva were to beat Jones at his own game it would establish MMA as a legitimate sport and mixed martial artists as skilled athletes instead of bar room brawlers in the eyes of the mainstream media. Even in a close defeat, with Silva demonstrating competence in a secondary discipline, Silva and MMA as a whole would be elevated.

The greatest risk of course is an embarrassing loss, particularly a knockout, which would be seized by the established media to paint MMA as boxing's inferior unskilled cousin. That storyline would prove irresistible, despite the obvious fact that boxing is not MMA and Silva is not a boxer by trade. Furthermore, a convincing loss would hurt Silva's air of invincibility, the one thing he has going for him as a draw right now.

The calculus of a potential Silva-Jones boxing match will ultimately be weighed by Dana White, not Anderson Silva. Even if Jones agrees to the bout, the final decision rests with White per Zuffa's standard exclusivity contract clause which covers boxing and professional wrestling in addition to MMA. The proposition is high risk, high reward, which just happens to be White's business philosophy in a nut shell.

IFL in Times Square

Advertising for the IFL's April 4 event at the IZOD Center just began this week, including the above billboard on Broadway next to ESPN Zone, but the advance is strong. Joe Favorito, IFL Senior Vice President of Communication, told MMAPayout.com that he expects the event to reach the company's goal of 7-8,000 tickets sold.

The company had a rough outing in Las Vegas last month drawing just 1,606 paid (although the final paid attendance is believed to be closer to 2,300). Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that as a result the Las Vegas market is no longer part of the IFL's future plans.

MMA at IMG's World Congress of Sports

MMA is in the conversation in a major way for the first time at IMG's World Congress of Sports. Some quotes from the convention floor:

• "The key is to know your consumer and follow your consumer. We've seen a study that shows a young male can identify 10 UFC fighters, but not 10 players on the (St. Louis) Rams." - Tony Ponturo, Vice President of Global Media and Sports Marketing at Anheuser-Busch, on why his company has become involved in the sport.
• "It's a phenomena. It's great to see there's room in this industry for a new sport." - MLS Commissioner Don Garber welcoming the idea of MMA becoming a major force in the sports industry.
• "If we're going to invest in something that (offends) her, we're going to lose an important consumer who really has some pull." - Beatriz Perez, Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing for Coca-Cola North America, cautioning that MMA advertisers have to be "very cognizant" of the potential reaction of certain sizable portions of their consumer base, particularly mothers.
• Jeffrey Pollack, Head of Harrah's Sports and CEO of the World Series of Poker, called MMA an "awesome phenomena" that Harrah's plans to get involved with.
  

2007's Top Sports Marketers

Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal recently released its list of the top sports marketers of 2007. New UFC sponsor Anheuser-Busch regained the top spot after being bumped by Chevrolet in 2006 for the first time since Nielsen began tracking spending in 1994. However, spending by the top two was actually down 36% and 13.6% for Anheuser-Busch and Chevrolet respectively. The complete list:

1. Anheuser-Busch, $218.2 million
2. Chevrolet, $173.2 million
3. AT&T Mobile, $172 million
4. Ford, $139.5 million
5. Verizon, $139.2 million
6. Sprint-Nextel, $137.5 million
7. Toyota, $134.8 million
8. Nissan, $99.8 million
9. Coors, $89.5 million
10. DirecTV, $85.4 million

The UFC may be well positioned to add other members of the list in near term, particularly a car manufacturer and wireless provider, especially given the current business climate. This week at IMG's World Congress of Sports, the sports industry was touted as the place to be during the pending recession. Beatriz Perez, Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing for Coca-Cola North America, said "this is the time for sponsors to be turning toward sports."

The UFC was touted by Anheuser-Busch's Tony Ponturo, VP of Global Media and Sports Marketing because of its buzz around the water cooler, but Perez responded that MMA is not right for her company's brands. However, Sources tell MMAPayout.com that Gatorade and Mountain Dew, both Pepsi brands, have expressed interest in MMA.

Jackson to be Featured in Nike Commercial

In another mainstream breakthrough for the sport of MMA, Sherdog.com reports that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is set to film a Nike commercial this weekend. Jackson will be joined in the commercial by LeBron James among other star athletes according to the report. The spot is titled "Human Chain" with a theme of overcoming.

Together with last week's EliteXC-CBS and UFC-Budweiser announcements, the report is the latest piece of evidence of MMA's growing mainstream acceptance, particularly by corporate America.

Randy Couture became the first mixed martial-artist to be featured in a Nike spot in 1996.

UFC 81 Preview: The Pro Wrestling Push

In case you haven't noticed, UFC 81 is shaping up to be something of a major marketing test in the MMA industry. One of the biggest questions in the industry today is where does the sport draw it's burgeoning audience from? Despite the media's preference of the boxing v. MMA narrative, which is enthusiastically embraced by some of the sport's most ardent fans, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that pro wrestling is MMA's closest comparable and biggest competitor.

The results of UFC 81 will go a long way towards answering that question with the event's marketing built on former WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar's ample shoulders. The UFC has chosen to explicitly target the pro wrestling audience, reaching separate deals with the two largest companies in the professional wrestling industry, WWE and TNA.

The company purchased footage of Lesnar as well as a promotional push on WWE.com from the WWE for what was reportedly a nominal fee, while TNA has aired a series of vignettes with Kurt Angle, pro wrestler and former Olympic Gold Medalist in wrestling, promoting the Lesnar-Mir matchup. Additionally, commercials for UFC 81 will be in heavy rotation during WWE RAW and Smackdown and the company distributed promotional materials at last night's WWE Royal Rumble in Madison Square Garden.

The UFC's motive's are obvious as Lesnar is a virtual unknown outside of the WWE audience. Despite Dana White's public reluctance to fully embrace pro wrestling, he is obviously betting that the UFC does draw from the pro wrestling audience and that Lesnar can expand that segment of the audience. It's a fairly low risk opportunity for the UFC to expand its audience, although there has been some backlash from the "hardcore" fan base at the promotion of a pro wrestler, especially at the expense of an interim Heavyweight Title fight pitting two top five fighters.

TNA's participation is easily explained by the fact that it is a fellow Spike property and depends on the network's support for its continued meager existence. It's not hard to imagine that if White went to Spike and wanted time on TNA, TNA had little choice but to be more than willing to give it. The WWE on the other hand is harder to explain.

It was McMahon's blessing that allowed the UFC onto Spike in 2005 and thus launched the company's current run. Hindsight being 20/20, with growing evidence that the WWE's declining pay-per-view numbers may be correlated to the UFC's increasing numbers, the conventional wisdom is that McMahon might regret that decision. However, on it's face, cooperating with the UFC's push of Lesnar certainly doesn't suggest much heart burn on McMahon's part.

The other interesting storyline of UFC 81 will be the promotion's handling of Tim Sylvia-Antonio Nogueira. The fight is officially for the Interim Heavyweight Title despite the fact that the company has still not acknowledged Randy Couture's resignation which precipitated the interim title match. If the past four months are any indication, the odds of a frank discussion of the Couture situation are slim to say the least.

However, the company's handling of Sean Sherk's steroid suspension during UFC 81 was mildly encouraging. The issue was addressed frankly on the Countdown show, but was completely glossed over on the pay-per-view, despite the fact that Sherk did commentary for the Lightweight Title fight. Depending on your perspective the combination was either a small step forward towards a legitimate sports approach that acknowledges inconvenient truths or a muddled compromise that leaves everyone unsatisfied and confused.

The key difference between Couture and Sherk is that Sherk is still with the company and his suspension will inevitably be a big part of the build for his fight with Penn, whereas Couture is no longer with the company, is embroiled in a bitter legal dispute, and by all indications intends to fight elsewhere as soon as possible.

In other words, the company was essentially forced to acknowledge Sherk's situation, whereas if they can get through the build for Sylvia-Nogueira without acknowledging Couture, they can arguably simply pretend he never existed from here on out with little consequence to business. They have made it almost four months without confronting the issue, stopping now would almost be a waste, creditability with its audience does not seem to be a commodity that the UFC values.

The rest of the live card is rounded out by Jeremy Horn v. Nate Marquardt and Ricardo Almeida v. Alan Belcher in a pair of fights that could quickly put the winners in contention in the thin Middleweight division. The swing bout has the potential to be the best fight of the night as Gleison Tibau faces Tyson Griffin in the 155-pound division.

Tough Sledding: UFC Finding International Expansion Isn't Easy

International expansion is all the rage in the information age. Technological advances have made global domination more feasible, while access to relatively cheap credit in recent years has made the process more affordable than ever. As a result nearly every major company has some global expansion plan.

Not to be left behind, the UFC launched an aggressive international expansion campaign of its own last spring. With UFC 80 emanating from Newcastle, England this Saturday and a report that the company has canceled its next planned international event, the time seems right to take stock of the effort thus far and to date the results have been mixed at best.

In Q1 and Q2 of 2007, operating costs more than doubled as a result of production expenses associated with two events held in the U.K. and an aggressive marketing campaign to establish the UFC brand in the U.K. At the time, S&P stated that it expected Zuffa "to reduce the scale of its international UFC bouts going forward, with the intent to limit potential losses generated by these events and return consolidated cash flow to a level more consistent with 2006 results."

However, following Q3 the company's credit rating was cut as Zuffa was again chided by S&P for its "material losses in international markets" with an accompanying threat of another rating cut if results do not improve.

According to sources within the industry, the company spent roughly one-to-one on marketing-to-revenue on its international events last year, which including increased production costs would make the events large loss leaders. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last year that financial officers within the company opposed the scale of the international expansion effort at the time it was implemented.

To his credit, UFC President Dana White has openly acknowledged the challenge the company has faced in its expansion efforts. "I don’t think there is anything profitable about the European market right now," White said in a recent conference call. "We’re getting our ass kicked over there." White went on to say that the television and pay-per-view markets are completely different in Europe, but the company is "stomping through this thing until we can figure out."

The latter statement is emblematic of the company's entire international expansion effort and perhaps explains a great deal of the problems they've faced. Figure it out as you go is not exactly the best business strategy. For whatever reason, the company seems to have jumped into international expansion head over heels on the assumption that the UFC brand would carry it through.

It's the same type of hubris the company showed in its purchase of Pride and its bold plans to resurrect the brand in Japan. Of course, the company was ultimately forced to abandon Japan and the Pride brand altogether. Whether that same fate awaits its European expansion effort remains to be seen. At present, the most interesting questions revolve around why the company was so eager to expand internationally, particularly in Europe, and why the 3/8 event is being moved back stateside.

No one questions the wisdom of international expansion in the long term, but the sense of urgency with which the company has pursued it has raised some eyebrows within the industry. The timing seems rushed, especially with the company still struggling to firmly establish itself in the United States, much less in North America where the company has yet to run live events in Canada or Mexico. The explanation may be as simple as hubris or perhaps there are greater motives at the heart of the initiative that are yet to be revealed.

On its face, the movement of the 3/8 event looks like a cost cutting measure. With the company facing growing pressure from its creditors to control costs, specifically by reducing the scope of its international presence, it may be that the cooler, more financially prudent, heads in the company finally prevailed over White's unbridled, some would say irresponsible, optimism. However, it is also possible that the company has secured a network television deal and the event is being moved to accommodate a live prime time television event. Time will tell.

Ultimately, the international expansion initiative is quintessential White: impetuous, ruthlessly ambitious, and visionary. Its the management philosophy and style that has delivered the company to its current destination, atop the MMA industry. Whether or not the company has outgrown that paradigm remains to be seen. What is clear is that White has a lot riding on international expansion and the outcome of the effort will loom large on his legacy and the company's financial future.

Are Boxing and MMA Actually Competitors?

There is growing evidence suggesting that the boxing v. MMA storyline, while convenient and intuitively true, may not be factually supported:

• SecondsOut.com reported that research showed that only about 20% of those in attendance at UFC events have ever attended a boxing match, and that those that had tended to return to boxing.
• Dave Meltzer reported that the LA Times recently reported that the cable companies found in a survey that only 3-5% of people who had ordered a boxing pay-per-view in 2007 had ordered a UFC event.
• According to Meltzer, in 1995 the UFC internally believed that 50-60% of its audience came directly from pro wrestling. Boxing was not considered competition unless it was Tyson because of his crossover appeal. As evidence, Meltzer pointed out that when the UFC went head-to-head with WWE Raw in 2005 there was a significant quarter hour swing between the two programs.
• The lack of competition is further evidenced by the fact that the TUF 6 Finale did a 1.87 rating v. Mayweather-Hatton, peaking at 2.10 with 2.9 million viewers going head-to-head with the Mayweather-Hatton fight itself.

A Boxing Fan Looks at MMA

Thomas Hauser, a well known boxing writer and biographer of Muhammad Ali, recently wrote an interesting feature at SecondsOut.com, A Boxing Fan Looks at MMA. The feature checks in at almost 5,000 words and is well worth reading in its entirety. The basic premise is that boxing is in trouble despite it's big year and that MMA is rising, although the two can co-exist. Some of the highlights:

• "It's easier for the average person to identify with MMA than with professional boxing,” Donald Zuckerman (an early MMA entrepreneur) said ten years ago. “There are more than 15,000 martial arts dojos in the United States, and the number of gyms devoted to boxing is diminishing. Every few years, Hollywood produces one boxing movie, but there are dozens of martial arts films annually. Most people have never engaged in a fight with regular boxing rules. But at one time or another, even if it was only on the playground in grade school, virtually everyone has engaged in some form of fighting."
• Popularity in terms of Google hits: 1-De La Hoya, 2-Pacquiao, 3-Mayweather, 4-Ortiz, 5-Liddell, 6-Couture, all significantly more popular than Hopkins, Pavlik, and Klitshcko.
• "Success sometimes breeds resentment, and UFC has its share of enemies. Rival promoters have grumbled about anti-competitive acts such as the alleged use of financial muscle (e.g. advertising dollars) to discourage media coverage of competitors’ events. They also claim that UFC marketing includes papering the house for promotions and giving cash to buyers who go to stores and purchase multiple copies of UFC DVDs. One competitor expresses his feelings with the observation, “You can’t spell ‘fuck’ without a U, an F, and a C.”"
• "UFC has a marketing line: “Boxing is your grandfather’s sport.” But research shows that only about twenty percent of those who attend UFC events have ever been to a boxing match, and these people tend to return to boxing. On the other hand, there’s a progression from pro wrestling to the UFC that occurs when a wrestling fan is around age eighteen. If boxing could get these fans to attend a boxing match, they might like it."
• "HBO (which televises virtually all of boxing’s major pay-per-view fights) says its studies show that undercards have little effect on PPV buys. Maybe that’s because fans have been conditioned to expect lousy pay-per-view undercards. That’s a great way to build a fan base: “You, the buying public, don’t care what’s on the undercard, so we’re going to save money and show you boring one-sided fights.”"
• "HBO is trumpeting the fact that 2007 has seen a year of record-high pay-per-view buys. But it has also been a year of record-low HBO World Championship Boxing ratings. Moreover, there has been little correlation between the license fees that HBO pays for fights and the ratings they get."
• "UFC is already in negotiations with Yahoo to distribute its matches over the Internet on a pay-per-view basis. Eventually, pay-per-view boxing will move to the Internet in a significant way. But when it gets there, it will find that MMA has beaten it to the punch. And the danger for HBO is that, if it doesn’t change quickly, its boxing program (and much more) could be eclipsed by new technologies the same way that IBM was eclipsed by Microsoft."
• "Sooner or later, UFC will experience a similar tragedy. Indeed, there’s a school of thought that, while professional wrestling controls the production of its telecasts so fans will forget that wrestling is fake, UFC controls its telecasts so fans will lose sight of the true nature of the physical damage being done. UFC’s cameras rarely linger on a combatant who is bleeding profusely or lying unconscious on the octagonal matt."
• "More managers and agents are coming into the MMA business, which means less profit for promoters. Randy Couture is nearing the end of his career. Chuck Liddell has lost his last two fights. Tito Ortiz hasn’t held a belt in four years. Few, if any, mainstream sponsors want their logo on a ring canvas that’s splattered with blood."

FULL ARTICLE: A Boxing Fan Looks at MMA

Mayweather/Hatton 24/7

WorldHipHopStar.com has the complete Mayweather/Hatton 24/7 series to get you geared up for tonight's fight:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4

Sports Marketing and PR Roundup Blog

Joe Favorito, Senior VP of Communications at the IFL, has started a new best practices blog called: Sports Marketing and PR Roundup: Sports Publicity, Marketing and Brand Building in a New Age. Joe has over twenty years of experience in strategic communications and marketing, working for some of the top sports brands in the world such as the NBA's New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, the WTA, and the US Open, before joining the IFL. In addition he is the author of "Sports Publicity: A Practical Perspective," the first and only textbook dedicated to sports publicity.

Joe is well respected throughout the MMA media for his tireless work on behalf of the IFL and has been a great friend of this site. If you're as interested in sports marketing and PR as I am then his new site should become a must read.

MMA Goes Hollywood: TapouT Signs with CAA

This week's Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal reports, in a front page story, that Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of the leading Hollywood agencies, recently reached a deal to represent TapoutT in areas including licensing and entertainment. Co-President of CAA Sports Howard Nuchow said, "TapouT has done an amazing job becoming the premier lifestyle brand synonymous with MMA." CAA Sports represents many star athletes and recently signed a deal to represent the New York Yankees.

In addition to CAA, other Hollywood firms have recently entered the MMA industry. Endeavor represents the UFC and negotiated the company's recently announced extension with Spike TV, while the William Morris Agency represents the IFL.

TapouT is expected to produce $25 million in revenue this year, up from $6 million in 2006, as it expands into 6,000 retail stores including Tilly's, Hibbett Sports, Hot Topic, Champs, Pac Sun and No Fear among others. In addition to fight gear, it's product line now includes men's and women's apparel, bottled water, and TapouT magazine which has 32,000 paid subscribers. The article states that the company sponsors more than 100 fighters.

PEMGroup, a private equity firm with $1.5 billion of assets under management, recently extended a multimillion-dollar credit line to the company. PEMGroup President Andrew Shayne cited the CAA deal, the company's profitability, and its involvement in a sport that he believes will "grow precipitously into the future” as reasons PEMGroup was interested in working with TapouT.

TapouT President Marc Kreiner said that the company received interest from a number of private equity firms before choosing PEMGroup. The company has also received interest from Wall Street bankers interested in taking the company public and large companies that wanted to buy it.

The article notes that the ESPN Sports Poll, which tracks interest in various sports, has began tracking MMA this year. In August, 35.7% of the population ages 12 and older identified themselves as fans of the sport. Mark Fein, Senior VP of Programming and Production at the Versus network said:

"This space is hot... [The CAA-TapouT partnership proves] "that the sport is around to stay when CAA says let’s look at various spaces and MMA is the space we want to get into... With all the different assets of CAA on the sports and entertainment sides, they will be able to weave the TapouT guys [into major, mainstream events] whether it’s a movie premiere or it’s with some of their sports clients at a sporting event... It’s great for us to have CAA take them to another level."