UFC Fan Expo in London Disappoints Industry Partners

by Jonathan Snowden on Oct 19, 2010 10:00 AM EDT in Business of MMA

www.thefightnerd.com at the UFC Fan Expo in Boston

We heard quite a bit about the success of UFC 120. The event drew throngs of fans, and while the British fighters didn't shine, just being in prominent positions on the card shows how far the country's fighters have come. What we didn't hear much about was the UFC's fourth Fan Expo.

The previous events were great - as a fan I was impressed with the shows in Las Vegas and the support the UFC got from all the fringe industries connected to the sport. In London, it was a different story. I spoke to industry insiders, freshly returned from their U.K. experience about what can only be described as a disappointing event. Here is how one insider described the Expo:

The UK expo was noticeably smaller than the domestic ones. These shows rely on retailers, be it apparel, supplements, or gear, to provide content. Not many have overseas distribution, so you end up with a limited supporting cast due to business considerations.

At the U.S. based Expos, fighters flock from all over to attend and meet the fans. It's easy and cheap for various clothing manufacturers to bring a fighter in and the booths at the Las Vegas Expos were teeming with athletes. In London, Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, and Junior Dos Santos were the name fighters and opportunities with UFC stars were limited. One industry insider says it was nothing like the American shows:

At the last Las Vegas show I remember seeing guys like Josh Barnett and Gilbert Yvel just kind of wandering around. Legends who don't even fight for the UFC like Ken Shamrock were there. The UFC brings in many of the fighters, but at the American Expos, apparel and supplement companies bring in athletes too. That didn't seem to happen here.

It wasn't just opportunities for fans that were limited by comparison. People working in the MMA business also found the event less interesting and compelling. Some are having second thoughts about another foreign adventure. The support system just isn't in place for MMA brands to make meaningful deals in these new markets. At the shows in Las Vegas companies can network, make significant distribution deals, and sign new fighters. Those opportunities weren't really present in the U.K. While fans were willing to spend, and the show was crowded with people, the bigger, longer term opportunities weren't there.

It's unlikely the UFC will be deterred from trying further U.K. fan expos. More attempts will be made and if history is any indication, they should be more successful. However, market realities in the U.K. make mimicking the success of the North American fan expos next to impossible - for now. The UFC Fan Expo London was the last Expo scheduled for 2010. The UFC hasn't announced dates or locations for 2011.

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I’m guessing they’ll organize one for Toronto in April.

by Nick Thomas on Oct 19, 2010 10:09 AM EDT reply actions

I think you’re right. I wonder if they will do one for the SuperBowl show as well?

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by Jonathan Snowden on Oct 19, 2010 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions

Newsflash:

The UK isn’t as big as America.

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by Martial Farts on Oct 19, 2010 10:20 AM EDT reply actions

That’s not even the issue. The culture’s different, so what appeals to meatheads in USA won’t appeal to meatheads in the UK, for example.

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by KJ Gould on Oct 19, 2010 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions

The skull t-shirt big logo brands is very much an American thing. You’ll see fans with their favourite fighter shirts, but outside of this the fashion scene is completely different in the UK. Just because MMA can transcend borders and cultures doesn’t mean that the offshoot merchandise will.

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by KJ Gould on Oct 19, 2010 10:23 AM EDT reply actions

There is also an MMA Expo in NYC.....

….at the Javits Center November 12-13…..MMA World Expo which includes the Renzo Gracie No-Gi Open Tournament plus a one night amateur Muay Thai tournament….

by BrothersGottaAndyHug on Oct 19, 2010 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

I plan on writing about that.

I have NO FUCKING IDEA why the UFC isn’t all over that shit. I mean M-1 is.

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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 19, 2010 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Say word I'm checking that out

by Papercut Elbow on Oct 19, 2010 4:07 PM EDT up reply actions

At the last Las Vegas show I remember seeing guys like Josh Barnett and Gilbert Yvel just kind of wandering around. Legends who don’t even fight for the UFC like Ken Shamrock were there. The UFC brings in many of the fighters, but at the American Expos, apparel and supplement companies bring in athletes too. That didn’t seem to happen here.

What the… ?

Perhaps it’s because it’s in a different country?!

In America a fighter can pop down to the expo and he (or his sponsor) only has to shell out for a bus ticket as opposed to a plane ticket.

Be water, my friend.
http://www.scramblestuff.com (Imported Japanese MMA goods!)
http://www.thegrapplingdummy.com (my Blog)

by Martial Farts on Oct 19, 2010 10:53 AM EDT reply actions

random fighters

Tom Watson was bowling about, he’s prob the English equivilant of josh and gilbert, as in, a known fighter not with the ufc. I had an incredible time for the record, it will be a sad day if its announced there will not be another expo in London

by WHTID on Oct 19, 2010 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

EXTRA EXTRA, Overseas attendance for U.S.-based company's fair underwhelming

"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"

SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 19, 2010 10:55 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

EXTRA EXTRA

Random famous Americans NOT spotted walking around in a country 10,000 miles away

Be water, my friend.
http://www.scramblestuff.com (Imported Japanese MMA goods!)
http://www.thegrapplingdummy.com (my Blog)

by Martial Farts on Oct 19, 2010 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

EXTRA EXTRA American clothing companies have limited appeal overseas

"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"

SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
Follow me on Twitter
Read me at WatchKalibRun

by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 19, 2010 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Actually, the point was that sponsors weren’t bringing them in. They aren’t there randomly, even in the US.

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by Jonathan Snowden on Oct 19, 2010 12:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Fan Exp should be an annual event like an all-star game where they can prepare a great card in advance to further promote the fan expo.

having a card like 120 and then expecting it to serve as some kind of hype train for the expo is never going to happen.

by DirtyML on Oct 19, 2010 10:57 AM EDT reply actions

i was there, i thought the expo was great. From a business type point of view perhaps things were disappointing but from a fan perspective it was really good, it was busy all day, there was quality stuff on the stage, the weigh in crowd was huge, and there was a ton of fighters there.

The point he makes about random other fighters milling like in America is ridiculous, the show was in f’n England.

by ebb on Oct 19, 2010 11:10 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

JoSno,

Chill with the sky is falling shit, it isn’t.

"How you expect to run with the wolves come night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies" - Omar Little

by The Omaplatapus on Oct 19, 2010 11:12 AM EDT reply actions

UFC Fan Expo in London Disappoints Industry Partners

Is it a “Disappointment” or Reality check. I think the “Industry Partners” as businesses should recognise the challenges of entering any new marketplace.

From what I’ve heard, the fans were there in full force. England is a couple of thousand miles away from Las Vegas, USA. It’s definitely not going to be as simple as shipping material to Nevada.

Secondly, I’m sure the smaller companies would question flying to England after already attending the previous Expos in the US. Have they spent their promotional budget for the year? The expense of attending an oversees Expo vs Domestic Expo? All these are questions a small exhibitor would have to ask themselves. If they only had a limited budget, they’d probably skip the UK Expo and concentrate on the domestic Expos.

by higgledy-piggledy on Oct 19, 2010 11:37 AM EDT reply actions

I went on Friday

And thought it was all a bit naff. I really loved the fighter demonstrations and um, hm. Well all I can say is that I got the two day ticket and didn’t bother with the Saturday because London is awesome and I did other things. Essentially the whole thing was a big merchandise convention. I did not want any merchandise, it was all shit. I was keen for autographs and signatures, but not that keen, big queues etc. To be brutally honest I was most keen to see Jon Jones give his demo and if possible grab a pic with him, and I did this within the first 30 mins of being there, after that I milled around and decided it wasn’t all that. Saw a few fighters around, Couture, Bonnar, Struve. Saw Thiago’s demo, which included Pickett and Miller, that was good too. But yeah, didn’t have high hopes and won’t bother again. But for the record, a lot of people seemed to genuinely dig it, so good on Zuffa, I’d expect they’d do it again. For me to go again… I honestly don’t know what they could do differently. Perhaps more demos with more of my fave fighters, but that’s a totally individual thing. I was lolling at the number of people walking around with beers, fuckin’ Pikey-ass Brits. INNIT YEAH

by jwalker on Oct 19, 2010 2:13 PM EDT reply actions

you didn’t think the Q&A’s & Weigh-In’s were worth the time?

by ebb on Oct 19, 2010 2:28 PM EDT reply actions

they were alright. the weigh ins were over fairly quickly, and from my distance, it wasn’t much difference from watching a quick vid online. I saw Rashads Q&A and I thought that was quite interesting, esp what he said about Machida/Jackson. But yeah nah, if I went again… yeah I’m not sure. If it was a stellar line up with open workouts and Q&As with my absolute favourite fighters, then I’d likely go again.

by jwalker on Oct 20, 2010 6:16 AM EDT up reply actions