UFC 141 Lesnar vs. Overeem: Why People Must Tune in to Tonight's Epic Clash

When two MMA superstars face off tonight in Las Vegas, it would be foolish for fans at home to not turn on their television and see what it’s about.

Sometimes sports offer an alternative to the mainstream that becomes so popular that it’s only fair for the casual fan to pay their respect. Sports tend to be dominated by “The Big Three” (basketball, football and baseball); on an international level, soccer is intensely popular as well. Recent American viewership trends, however, indicate that the UFC is the fastest-growing sport in the world.

The UFC, which is owned by Zuffa, is known to utilize fantastic marketing while also capitalizing on a strong demand for a quality pay-per-view television product. Under the leadership of CEO Dana White, value has spiked exponentially to a now well over billion-dollar market.

Many point out that White has capitalized on a marketing strategies known as “niche marketing”, specifically targeting males from the age of 18-34. By putting a hold on that audience, the product becomes more valuable to a devoted fan base. UFC also focuses on “commercial synergy” by taking the original product—the fight itself—and marketing it into other products; this includes the production of video games, reality show spinoffs (The Ultimate Fighter), a clothing company partnership (TAPOUT), advertising and promotion on Facebook, magazines and websites, and secondary online broadcasts.

This has helped the UFC audience to increase from approximately five million in 2008 to more than 10 million in 2010; UFC- and MMA-style fighting is spiraling to a growth that is going to far exceed the more traditional realm of boxing.

A sport that was once deemed illegal in many cities has now received a major contract from Fox, and is seeking to gain popularity internationally in developing countries. By hosting events in Japan, Brazil and India the market becomes even broader than the original niche market of young American men.

So how has Bleacher Report been able to sustain a cybercast like “The Ultimate Show” large enough to convince Mike Tyson be a part of it (and brilliantly pick Lesnar over Overeem)?

People care about UFC. Especially online, where White himself is an avid tweeter and instructs his fighters to “tweet their asses off,” the UFC is something that gets people talking.

Whether it’s the blood, the controversial fighters, the intense matches or the hype itself, the embracing of social media has helped spike the UFC to new extremes and highs.

White prides himself on being honest, open and, perhaps most importantly, often. For UFC fights, they’ve become simply interesting to follow online and on the television.

The MMA itself has an interesting story. It shares its hearth in 1993, when the only rules were originally “no biting” and “no eye-gauging”. Eventually, there was intense backlash from individuals like John McCain. The fighters now need to be familiar with as wide of an array of styles as karate, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, boxing, and whatever else is needed to win the fight.

With the growing history come polarizing figures, like Randy Coutere, Kimbo Slice, and Brock Lesner.

Tonight’s fight, UFC 141, features two of the more interesting names in the business. Brock Lesner, listed as the highest paid fighter in the sport, is 6’3” and 266 pounds. He is known for a tattoo of a giant sword on his back, and is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion.

He faces Alistair Overeem, another heavyweight, who has not lost a fight since 2007. He is the favorite coming into the fight, and at 140-odds should be in store for an intense evening.

This is an especially hyped UFC event, and for the casual fan, it’s best to recognize the art of the sport and give the fight a chance before writing it off as unnecessary violence.

As Dana White often says, “we never leave someone unsatisfied.” If his model is correct, and each fan can go out and tell fifteen people about the event and hype it up, that cycle will continue exponentially.

Take the advice of someone like me, who is coming from the perspective baseball fan who had never watched a fight in his life until he started enjoying them.

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