Fighting for Acceptance: Social Media and MMA
I’m a huge fan of mixed martial arts. I love everything about it – the competition, the talent, the thrill. And like most MMA junkies living in the great state of New York, I’m waiting with baited breath to be able to attend a live fight in my own home town. But that’s another post for another blog. Well … maybe not. See, the way I look at it, the controversy surrounding the legalization of MMA in New York is directly related to one thing: its reputation. Or, more specifically: the misinformation that has formed its reputation. And, boys and girls, what do we know about misinformation? It often occurs due to a lack of communication, a lack of awareness. It’s no surprise to me that many people who oppose MMA admittedly don’t actually know that much about it. Dana White – president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the largest MMA promotion company in the world – knows this all too well. That’s why he spends who-knows-how-many thousands of dollars trying to educate the public on the sport. In his fight to win over New York lawmakers, he’s written opinion pieces in city newspapers, commissioned studies to show how much revenue MMA fights would bring to the state, and done countless interviews with news channels and radio shows. And while he’s educating lawmakers and the public about MMA, he’s doing something else, as a result: a heck of a lot of marketing and promotion for both the sport and his company. Pretty smooth. But White’s smartest move in this “fan base acquisition” endeavor, without question, was his decision to take UFC social.