And1 to Sponsor Nate Quarry

by Luke Thomas on Oct 31, 2008 3:06 PM EDT in MMA News

And1 is primarily a basketball company, best known for its moderately priced footwear and apparel as well as the high-energy mixtapes that functioned as guerilla marketing and launched the brand into national consciousness. The California company, however, recently decided to dip its kicks into the waters of MMA, signing popular UFC middleweight Nate Quarry to a multi-fight sponsorship deal.

Quarry will unveil his new sponsor during his UFC 91 matchup with Demian Maia on Nov. 15. And1 will be one of two primary sponsors for Quarry, with a logo on his fight shorts and octagon signage, along with Nuvasive, the medical company which developed the spinal fusion procedure that saved his fighting career.

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"When I think of Nike, I think of a couple guys with a waffle iron starting the company," Quarry said. "Back then, they decided they wanted to do something different. But now, the guys who did all that are stitting in boardrooms, comfortable and complacement. But you have these other upstarts, realizing, 'Hey this MMA thing, this UFC, we've got something here.' It's nice to see these companies getting excited about entering the MMA world, and it's cool to see the rewards they get out of it."

And1 representatives admit this isn't the most logical marriage, but in an important way, it is: the coveted male 18-34 demographic watches UFC events, so why not promote your brand where the eyeballs are? And1 gets coverage on ESPN and has successfully grown their line of apparel competing against the Adidas' and Nikes of the world. This is an unconventional way to market gear given that And1 doesn't have any MMA apparel to sell, but to the average sports fan who enjoys basketball and is watching UFC 91 this will make him or her view And1 with a raised eyebrow. In that sense, it accentuates and reinvigorates the And1 brand. For the MMA fan, noticing that And1 is throwing their hat in the MMA mix serves as evidence that the move towards mainstream sponsorship is still on the march.

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wonder how much the video of Quarry

wearing their gear while he taps out to Maia will be worth to them.

by Nate Wilcox on Oct 31, 2008 3:08 PM EDT reply actions

hate hate hate hate hate

by Luke Thomas on Oct 31, 2008 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Hopefully the logo is visible on the front of the shorts, so it reappears in highlight reels of the rear naked choke.

by Charles Awad on Oct 31, 2008 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions

LOL.

by pud333 on Oct 31, 2008 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s not the plan.

They have to digital put their logo onto the running man and the screech punch to be on their next mixtape.

by Phildo on Oct 31, 2008 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Total aside..

..but Mike Chiapetta probably caught a lot of grief as a kid if he’s a hairy dude.

by Charles Awad on Oct 31, 2008 3:11 PM EDT reply actions

Two items:
1. More mainstream acceptance for MMA! Bud Light went a long way towards making it more OK for huge companies to sponsor MMA, and this is another step in that march. It won’t be long before Nike and Reebok are making gis.
2. It’s probably better to debut your sponsorship with a fighter that’s going to win – which I don’t see Nate doing. Maia’s win over MacDonald looks better and better every time The Athlete fights.

by Derek Suboticki on Oct 31, 2008 3:20 PM EDT reply actions

Will the Professor and Skip to my lou be in his corner? Will Air Canada be his cut man?

by lbk on Oct 31, 2008 3:40 PM EDT reply actions

I wonder if they’ll be debuting a new non-basketball oriented logo or line with this. Admittedly I don’t know a whole lot about the brand except for what I saw in high school and the five minutes I just spent googling but it seems most of their imagery includes tie-ins to the sport.
GSP’s new management has also been in talks with people like Cadillac and other high end companies, which would be very exciting.

by Simco on Oct 31, 2008 3:41 PM EDT reply actions

i'm surprised we havent seen a nike sponsorship yet

i could see GSP or someone coming out in shorts with nothing but a big swoosh on the back (that is, if he weren’t already tied to affliction). in due time i suppose.

and yeah… the whole term “AND 1” is basketball specific to begin with, isn’t it?

by woooburn on Oct 31, 2008 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah. A nike sponsorship would be great. I know they’ve already sponsored MMA fighters in Japan and create MMA gear so hopefully it’ll be north america’s turn soon.

by Tonley on Oct 31, 2008 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions