Bob Arum: "The Future Success of the UFC Is Limited"

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/2/17/1998708/boxings-bob-arum-the-future-success-of-the-ufc-is-limited

Quote :: "I don't want to demean UFC, because they've done a marvelous job of marketing. But it's the same audience over and over. It's white males, and they have never been able to expand their demographic."

"The Hispanics don't care anything for it. Most African-Americans don't watch it. Hey, this country is becoming more and more Hispanic, and it's growing African-American (in the) audience. So the future success of UFC is limited. The success of boxing is not, because boxing reaches those groups. The only demographic that boxing has lost is the white, young males, period."

LOL more dumb shit from this cock sucker.

Yeah he's so wrong it isn't even funny. At my gym I've seen just as many hispanics and blacks come and train as white guys, plus every other race.

MMAEYES wrote:: Yeah he's so wrong it isn't even funny. At my gym I've seen just as many hispanics and blacks come and train as white guys, plus every other race.

Just look at the current and recent Champions in MMA. Cain, Rampage, King Mo, Rashad, Jorge Santiago, Hectar Lombard, Miguel Torres, Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson just to name a few.

OU wrote:

MMAEYES wrote:: Yeah he's so wrong it isn't even funny. At my gym I've seen just as many hispanics and blacks come and train as white guys, plus every other race.

Just look at the current and recent Champions in MMA. Cain, Rampage, King Mo, Rashad, Jorge Santiago, Hectar Lombard, Miguel Torres, Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson just to name a few.

Holy shit your right wheres all the honkies? lol

Green Belt Posts : 533 Join date : 2010-06-28

OU wrote:

MMAEYES wrote:: Yeah he's so wrong it isn't even funny. At my gym I've seen just as many hispanics and blacks come and train as white guys, plus every other race.

Just look at the current and recent Champions in MMA. Cain, Rampage, King Mo, Rashad, Jorge Santiago, Hectar Lombard, Miguel Torres, Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson just to name a few.

Lol, you forgot about the Greatest UFC champ ever in Anderson Silva also.

Jamal wrote:

OU wrote:

MMAEYES wrote:: Yeah he's so wrong it isn't even funny. At my gym I've seen just as many hispanics and blacks come and train as white guys, plus every other race.

Just look at the current and recent Champions in MMA. Cain, Rampage, King Mo, Rashad, Jorge Santiago, Hectar Lombard, Miguel Torres, Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson just to name a few.

Lol, you forgot about the Greatest UFC champ ever in Anderson Silva also.

I didn't throw out any Brazilians. You have Anderson, Shogun, Aldo, Cavalcante, Machida just off the top of my head.

Arum hates MMA and doesn't understand modern promotions. But it is because o guys like him and Don King that boxing is dying. Only Oscar seems to try and take care of his fighters.

Lot of Mexicans in cali love MMA, but I think more like boxing still. One though, is growing, the other is not.

I think there's a lot of truth in what he says

When I read this earlier today my first though was Rolling Eyes

sorry guys but hes telling the truth , atleast on the demgraphics, he isnt saying black people and mexicans dont fight HES SAYING THE MONEY COMES FROM THE WHITE DEMO, which is exactly what UFC caters to, white males 18-39. He isnt off at all, also Boxing has a much higher dempgraphic of hispanic and african american viewers so he is right again on that.

Just saying

you know he maybe right, i really dont know as im not an expert in this area, but even if he's right MMA has been around for what, 20 years? give it time mr rum rum

Birdofthad wrote:: sorry guys but hes telling the truth , atleast on the demgraphics, he isnt saying black people and mexicans dont fight HES SAYING THE MONEY COMES FROM THE WHITE DEMO, which is exactly what UFC caters to, white males 18-39. He isnt off at all, also Boxing has a much higher dempgraphic of hispanic and african american viewers so he is right again on that.

Just saying

Yep, thinking along the same lines

Birdofthad wrote:: sorry guys but hes telling the truth , atleast on the demgraphics, he isnt saying black people and mexicans dont fight HES SAYING THE MONEY COMES FROM THE WHITE DEMO, which is exactly what UFC caters to, white males 18-39. He isnt off at all, also Boxing has a much higher dempgraphic of hispanic and african american viewers so he is right again on that.

Just saying

+1

The demos he's referring to arent buying the PPVs.

Birdofthad wrote:: sorry guys but hes telling the truth , atleast on the demgraphics, he isnt saying black people and mexicans dont fight HES SAYING THE MONEY COMES FROM THE WHITE DEMO, which is exactly what UFC caters to, white males 18-39. He isnt off at all, also Boxing has a much higher dempgraphic of hispanic and african american viewers so he is right again on that.

Just saying

hahahah and 30 minutes after my post bloodyelbow has a story basically stating Im right muhahha

LA wrote:: When I read this earlier today my first though was

and thats why i know way more about mma than you hahaha

OU wrote:

Jamal wrote:

OU wrote:

MMAEYES wrote:: Yeah he's so wrong it isn't even funny. At my gym I've seen just as many hispanics and blacks come and train as white guys, plus every other race.

Just look at the current and recent Champions in MMA. Cain, Rampage, King Mo, Rashad, Jorge Santiago, Hectar Lombard, Miguel Torres, Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson just to name a few.

Lol, you forgot about the Greatest UFC champ ever in Anderson Silva also.

I didn't throw out any Brazilians. You have Anderson, Shogun, Aldo, Cavalcante, Machida just off the top of my head.

based on this argument that would mean Phillipinos are the largest or 2nd largest demographic in boxing.

Based on yalls argument Brazilians would be the number 1 demographic for UFC, which aint even close

Arum concedes young white males to the UFC. Boxing has inarguably lost ground with that demographic since the fall of Mike Tyson. But he insists that boxing is way ahead with Hispanics and African-Americans and he's likely right.

In fact the UFC knows it's way behind with those demographics and that's why the UFC made a major three-pronged attack on boxing fans in 2010 as I wrote at the time:

It's no secret that the UFC has been aggressively going after boxing fans and the demographic groups who follow the sweet science most loyally, i.e. African-Americans and Hispanics. The signing of Kimbo Slice and his Ultimate Fighter reality show career was designed to bring in African-American fans who followed the YouTube sensation. The casting of two of the UFC's top African-American fighters, both former light heavyweight champs, Quinton Jackson aka Rampage and Rashad Evans as the coaches of Kimbo's TUF season was designed to lock in those curiosity seekers as fans. UFC 114 which featured Rashad vs Rampage owed much of its success to that gambit.

They took a second stab at boxing fans with the signing of James Toney vs Randy Couture at UFC 118. This was aimed more at the middle aged white guys who still follow boxing but disdain MMA. It had some success in drawing mainstream media attention, but largely fell flat as a marketing effort. Toney was shot as a fighter. The boxer vs wrestler angle had been done so many times everyone, even old boxing fans, knew that the wrestler usually wins that one. If the UFC had managed to sign a David Haye or Kermit Cintron -- an athlete in his prime who had some other skills -- it might have been a different matter.

UFC 121 was the UFC's third bite at the boxing apple this year. This time they were aiming straight at the sweetest, fattest and most lucrative slice of that boxing pie -- the Hispanic audience. Cain Velasquez was largely unknown to casual fans going into the fight. He'd only headlined one UFC and that was in Australia where the U.S. media coverage was limited by distance.

But none of that really mattered because they aggressively pushed a very very simple meme -- "The First Mexican Heavyweight Champ". This was designed to aim directly at the burgeoning Mexican-American demographic, some of the most loyal fight fans on Earth. We won't know until the UFC 121 PPV numbers come out if that effort succeeded, and it will be hard to tell how many of the buys were for Brock and how many were for Cain, but there is some anecdotal evidence that the marketing worked. More importantly they now have an easy follow up plan to market Cain's first title defense, a fight against the even less heralded Junior dos Santos.

It's interesting to note that they haven't followed up on any of these angles so far in 2011, despite doing banner business. Cain Velasquez's rotator cuff injury will keep him out of action for most of this year. There are no signs of a second Mexican-American superstar emerging in the near term.

On the African-American front, Kimbo Slice was cut after an undistinguished run in the UFC and a possible Quinton Jackson vs Rashad Evans rematch won't be happening at UFC 130. It's possible that they want to save that rematch for a later event when they can promote it more extensively as headliner rather than a co-headliner.

The UFC is focused on international expansion in 2011 with the UFC 129 mega event in Toronto, the UFC's return to Brazil in August, a possible The Ultimate Fighter series shot in the Philippines and a possible return to Japan as well as continuing their expansion into Europe and Australia.

That's a very smart strategy, but the UFC would be well-advised to pay heed to Arum and continue to work to make inroads into boxing's strongest demographics in the U.S. market.

Birdofthad wrote:

LA wrote:: When I read this earlier today my first though was

and thats why i know way more about mma than you hahaha

My first thought when I read this was Rolling Eyes

Really LOL

hahahaha im sorry ill leave ya alone and let ya enjoy a wolf free environment

Huh? it was just a dumbass comment, like really dumb.

Do you think Arum would say something like this (and has before) because he really feels the UFC and MMA's future success is limited? He wouldn't feel need to say anything if that was the case lets be real here.

Lets talk about that limited demographic

First off, the 18-39 white male demographic is also the most desirable and lucrative. Secondly, those men 18-39, they're not going anywhere, they will become older MMA fans as the new wave of 18-39 year ol males comes in. Do they lack in certain demographics? sure, but we're talking about a very young sport here still in all reality, time will fill those voids. Watch with just Cain being UFC HW Champ alone more hispanic fans coming in for instance. It's just ignorant to think they will never be able to tap into those groups.

» Lawal's surgery a success.
» UFC 154 is 30% off if you order on Xbox LIVE, for a limited time
» The First PPV Success For UFC
» BAMMA: Daley vs Shirai to stream for $10- limited time for $5
» Has the GP been a success or failure?