[UFC 110]: Nogueira vs Velasquez - venduti $540,000 in merchandising (21/02/2010)

I like tie-in gimmicks just as much as the next guy, but let’s call it what it is: junk. Jar Jar Binks soft drink cups: junk. Foam fingers: junk. Death Clutch socks: junk. If you purchase a Michael Bisping t-shirt, you’re going to be washing your car with it inside of two years. The only MMA-themed apparel I’ve ever owned or worn was a Kazushi Sakuraba T-shirt that was vague enough to make me look like a gas station employee. (When it finally grew holes and I had to toss it, it was like burying a dog. Sad day.)

Regardless of my own preferences, MMA apparel is big business: according to the Sports Business Journal via BloodyElbow.com, UFC 110 in Australia did a staggering $540,000 worth of merchandising sales last Feb. 21. For perspective, that’s nearly $200,000 more than Strikeforce’s entire live gate attendance for their Miami show last January.

Part of that windfall is attributable to Australia simply being starved for fight content: it’s probably difficult to find a UFC flask or holiday ornament outside of a live venue there. But it’s also further evidence that the UFC brand is virtually insurmountable from a marketing perspective.

What would be even more interesting is to see how many individual fighter items were sold compared to items bearing only the UFC label. That logo never goes on strike, never asks for a raise, never gets injured -- and can never, ever head across the street to the competition. Aspiring business rivals would do themselves a favor in remembering that.