Will Regional MMA survive COVID?Many argue whether or not the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a “mainstream sport”. If you asked random people on the street whether they knew what MMA was, I’m sure the answer would be more of a question – UFC?. That question/answer would be incorrect. The UFC is a professional sports league. The sport…MMA.
The UFC was forced to take a brief hiatus from live events due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while all other sporting events have been sidelined indefinitely, which is great for the athletes competing in the UFC and the fans. I’m sure there have been a ton of new fans of the sport now that the only live sporting event people have been able to see is the UFC.
Promoting MMA on the regional scene is a different beast. For many promoters, it’s a hobby and a labor of love. Many have tried and very few have been successful.
What is very rarely considered is how the athletes competing in the UFC got there.
They got there by plying their trade on the regional circuit, sometimes in grimy bars/night club, legion halls, and in rare cases actual sports venues. The pay is low and the opportunities are generally few and far between. Promoting MMA on the regional scene is a different beast. For many promoters, it’s a hobby and a labor of love. Many have tried and very few have been successful.
It takes tremendous investment and even more work to put on a show with no guarantee there will be a profit at the end of the show. The only people that actually know and understand what it takes to put on a professional MMA show are those that do it. The fighters think they know but they only see about 5% of the overall business and the fans certainly do know, or likely care.
More than meets the eye: Many professionals work behind the scenes to make sure these two fighters get their shot at advancing their professional career. Almost all decisions, logistics and problem-solving happen behind the scenes.
Promoters have to pay for the venue, commission fees, marketing, insurance, fighter purses, hotels, tables, chairs, the cage, stools for the judges, sound/lighting, streaming tools, event staff…I could go on and I’m sure I’ve glossed over some items.
What are the different sources of income the promoter has to cover the cost of the above-mentioned expenses and also put food on his/her table and pay the cable bill? Maybe sponsorship. Businesses may sponsor an event in different capacities. However, many businesses today run a very tight budget and those making the financial decisions either have no clue what MMA is or have such little knowledge they deem it “human cockfighting” (which is hilarious to me seeing the sport has been around for 30 years). So lets generously put sponsorship covering 10% of operating costs. We’ll dive into the topic of sponsorship in greater detail in a future piece. Will those businesses that currently sponsor events be able able/interested in continuing to do so post-COVID?
So, how does the promoter make up the remaining 90% of operating costs? Live attendance, or for lack of a better term…asses in the seats. We’ve seen it in all other major sports, big leagues and minor leagues, where a team has to fold up shop and move to another city because the team was financially unsuccessful in the previous market, largely due to lack of attendance. I’ve seen more people on the city bus during COVID-19 than fans at a Tampa Bay Rays game in July, for example.
Regional MMA is no different. Rarely do you find a straight-up “fan of the sport” at a regional MMA event, most of the fans in attendance are there to support their son, nephew, friend, which is great and absolutely creates fans of other fighters or the promotion? A few promoters do a fantastic job of advertising their events to draw in the fans of the sport, and/or highlighting star athletes showcased on the cards but they also lean on the athletes to hustle tickets to the above-mentioned friends and family to ensure there are asses in those seats.
How will COVID-19 affect regional MMA?
Well, it could be devastating. If events are not able to be put on or if fans can not attend, I imagine the promoters that eek by the show to show will cease to exist. The promoters who have invested in the promotion as a business will be forced to be innovative and create different ways to give the fans what they want and give the athletes further opportunity to showcase their skills and work towards their goals of reaching the UFC. If restrictions are lifted and events can happen with fans in attendance, will people show up or will they stay home for fear of potentially picking up some type of illness? No one really knows, but I believe the friends and family that supported pre-COVID will support post-COVID.
For promoters, nothing really changes (except increased workload), for a show to be successful, they need asses in the seats. If you are a fan of an athlete on the regional scene or a fan of the sport in general, do all that you can to support the fighters/promotions AND their sponsors. I know this piece seems to have more questions than a game show but there are a lot of questions surrounding the future of the sport on the regional level. To keep it alive, you must support it, much like every other local business. They all need our help to ensure everyone survives the current state of affairs and beyond.