Hero MMA: Setting up an MMA promotion in Korea P:2

On October 01 2010 02:29 itzbrandnew wrote:
Incentives for the fighters will draw people faster than anything else. Just look at what the enormous prize pool has been doing for the SC2 crowd in Korea

On October 01 2010 03:55 IdrA wrote:
thats all relative, you can be high level in sc2 quickly because no one actually has that much experience. as long as you're not matching the korean fighters up against gsp and silva theyll look fine, given a basic level of competence that they all have already.

On October 01 2010 05:40 Waxangel wrote:
wouldn't be terribly surprised if you came to the conclusion that this is all terribly unviable at the present, considering you'd have to do a lot of the development

On October 01 2010 02:26 MightyAtom wrote:
MMA means mixed martial arts; so a MMA promotion is basically like a boxing promotion, they set up the fight card between a number of fighters.

BJJ is Brazilian Jujitsu which was formed by the Gracie family in the early 1900's which focused on ground fighting and submissions and which is integral in MMA because MMA involves both striking (kicking and punching) and wrestling, judo and BJJ.

^^

On October 01 2010 13:28 jdwashere wrote:


You should learn things before you teach things....

On October 01 2010 14:07 Trap wrote:
Have you thought about reaching out to some of the full contact but more traditional martial arts in Korea, i.e. ITF taekwondo, into joining a MMA event? (admittedly, I know very little about ITF, or any other Korean martial arts, and a lot of them might just be offended and refuse.) One of the big early draws of early UFC was the variety of styles, whereas currently in the UFC the heavies have become somewhat homogenous and lackluster by comparison. If you could get a couple of competitive traditional Korean strikers who can sprawl I think people would get more interested in following it for the novelty. And Koreans might be more interested in trying out grappling in Korea after seeing how it fares against most traditional striking arts (remember how Royce's first couple of UFCs kickstarted a BJJ craze in the US?)

On October 01 2010 14:07 Trap wrote:
Have you thought about reaching out to some of the full contact but more traditional martial arts in Korea, i.e. ITF taekwondo, into joining a MMA event? ... + Show Spoiler +

On October 04 2010 23:59 ironchef wrote:


I kind of agree with this. This seems to be what a lot of promoters in smaller markets do (Russia- sambo/judo, China-Sanshou). I think a lot of it too is that MMA fighter pool is sparse there so that's kind of the only choice to sign more than being about national pride/audience familiarity. But it seems to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Also consider a marketing niche. For example, some companies go the full blown entertainment/theatrics route vs traditional sports style. Pride sort of did it, KSW does it today (someone came down in a fucking tank lol). Also they have ultra popular powerlifter competing. Sounds like a freakshow, but it has its place, and can generate interest if combined with longterm/legit sport goals. The rise of Japanese MMA heavily piggy backed on their prowrestling scene, and is still influenced a lot.

One caveat is that if Korea is aware of other MMA it might not be as effective. (I believe Fedor, Kang, Akiyama are pretty big there, but I dont know how big).

PS: lol KSW... "so bad it's good" level
+ Show Spoiler +

On October 05 2010 12:08 Ciryandor wrote:
The country already has a strong martial arts tradition in Tae Kwon Do, and major influences in Judo and BJJ brought on by the media presence of MMA in the country. People are aware that it exists, and that they like it. As I see the conditions, I'd have to say that what you want to cultivate is an MMA experience that is accessible to Koreans; and that doesn't have to necessarily mean it's immediately as good as what you'd see in the Octagon every few weeks. These guys are bound to have fans, family and people who know them despite being underground; so it's more of creating an eye-opener for those people who support an individual that there are other players with comparable skills they can like or hate on. The chance to see "YOUR GUY" (note: NOT a stable!) in action with others may seem like promoting based on fighter personalities/charisma, but a focus on them providing a close-up experience of seeing how good they are in the arena can bring in new blood and viewers.

People will go live even if for one match; but if they see two well-matched fighters with distinctive styles giving a good fight (whatever technical deficiencies they may have); is the key to broadening the appeal as a whole. It was how UFC built itself up in the United States; getting good matches from different fighter styles of comparable skills against each other. This means getting as many people who are in the fighting field and having a reliable person (Joe Silva-like) match them regarding their skill levels. The more people appreciate the fights, the more people will want to see fights independent of the people, as they realize that there are raw talents that can compete in the sport that are duking it out alongside well-rounded players who can compete on an international level already.

The caveat here is of course if you want to go the UFC route and eventually set it up as a "feeder" Asian league for aspiring, legitimate UFC contenders; would actually make you look good vs places like PRIDE if that pans out.

(OT: Sheesh, first time in a few months I've done a quick and dirty but proper analysis of competitive climate.)