Promotions Stop, MMA Highlight Videos are Great for Self Promotion

Recently a friend of mine had made a highlight video called "The Year of the Rat". This highlight video was a video detailing the crazy ups and downs in the mma world in 2007. It was masterfully done and was growing in popularity on youtube. Eventually though the highlight video fell to the fate that other videos before it did, it was pulled.

My friends highlight videos fate is a tactic that has been done by the UFC and a few other organizations. Big promotions like the UFC do not want their fights being made available for free, and instead would rather have there fans pay an arm and a leg to see them. Despite, this tactic a highlight video is hardly a full fight, and is instead a  mash up of particular moments of that fight promoting a fighter or a particular show.

So wheres the harm in these videos? To me there is no harm in these kinds of videos they instead to me seem to be a great way for free promotion of the sport and an organization. A mash up of some of the most exciting moments in a fighters career can sell a show for me. If I see a video highlighting BJ Penn and I think to myself man that guys is really talentedI will almost surely want to see the next show that he is on. Also when I try to convert people to the sport of mma it is almost easier to show a highlight video than a full fight. Not everyone has the attention span to sit at the TV and watch the whole thing.

We all know that shameless internet promotion can lead to a big contract. Take Kimbo Slice for example who received a big contract in the Elite XC based solely on self internet promotion of his videos. Kimbo Slice not completely talentless, hadn't yet made his chops in the mma world when he signed with Elite XC. He now is a major headliner in the mma community with very few professional fights, none of which were against top guys.

So promoters please stop pulling highlight videos because you are simply hurting your buisness. DVD sales are one of you major sources of income and when you pull highlight videos I don't know which DVD I want to buy with which fights. You lose promotion and fan support,  and when you don't have either one you are simply going to die.