A New Passion In the Hispanic Culture: MMA

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Jun 082012

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the place where the best fighters in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) meet to determine who will reign supreme of the coveted UFC Championship Belt. In my household, it was a tradition, not only to watch a boxing match on a Saturday evening but to also make an entire day of it. We would make carne asada outside and enjoy festivities building up to the fight. The UFC has taken notice of how valuable the Hispanic market is to combat sports and they have come to the right place to be part of this tradition.

The UFC began with only one staffer dedicated to Hispanic marketing and now have increased to six. If you’re a UFC fan, you can’t help but notice all the new marketing initiatives the UFC has implemented. Last year, UFC began a new television option dedicated to the Spanish speaker. They also launched UFCLatino.com, which is a site for avid bilingual fans to engage with each other and get frequent updates. As we mentioned in previous blogs, Hispanics have a significant presence in social media and the UFC has found great success in reaching out to Hispanics through this channel. According to Experian Simmons market research, Hispanics now make up 20 percent of the sport’s key male 18-34 demographic. By those same numbers, almost 40 percent of Hispanic males 18-34 identify as avid UFC fans, while less than a quarter of non-Latinos in that audience do. A kick off rally for a fight last year that featured one of the best and rising stars in the sport, Cain Velasquez, was held at the historic Olvera Street Plaza. The event was such a success, staffers were overwhelmed with the turnout and commented that they have never experienced anything like it.

I considered myself a “casual” fan of the sport but having Cain Velasquez become the first Mexican American heavyweight title holder definitely grabbed my attention a lot more. Having his face plastered over several billboards throughout Los Angeles also helped me become a bigger fan of the sport. Unfortunately, last year in November, Cain Velasquez lost his title against Junior dos Santos. I’m really looking forward to his return. Here is a list of the top Hispanic MMA fighters to watch out for (past and present).