Make no mistake about it: as much as many of us complain about The Ultimate Fighter, Zuffa’s game changing reality show, it is the main reason the sport of MMA survived in North America. The Fertittas owe their billion dollar enterprise to this simple concept, one that allows fans to get to know the fighters before they step in the cage and gives them a glimpse of just how complex this sport really is. UFC President Dana White says that people everywhere understand fighting-it just takes a little education to understand the nuances of the game:
Think about this: Right now in the United States, there is nothing bigger than the NFL. It is huge. But the NFL has been spending billions of dollars trying to break into other countries and it’s not working. You know why? Because these people in other countries don’t care about American football. They didn’t grow up playing it and they’re not invested in American teams.
I take two guys and put them in an octagon and they can use any martial art they want — that transcends all culture barriers. Right now we are on some form of television in over 175 countries. We’re all human beings and we all “get” fighting.
It only makes sense, as the UFC attempts to expand their brand globally, that The Ultimate Fighter play a role in that expansion. Up until now an international TUF has been little more than a pipe dream. White has been discussing it for years, first focusing on Brazil as the home of an international TUF, but an actual deal never materialized. Recently the UFC President, as well as owner Lorenzo Fertitta, both made it clear that the TUF concept was applying for a passport-with a launch time soon to follow.
White says the first international season will take place in either Canada or the Middle East. At first glance, Canada seems the easy choice. The promotion has more success there, per capita, than any other market on Earth. One of the biggest stars in the game, Georges St. Pierre, is Canadian and his rabid fan support makes an average PPV card a spectacular financial success. Yet, there are $100 million reasons that the international TUF will take place in the Middle East, home of Zuffa’s new partners. White says the partnership in Abu Dhabi is only one reason the show could take off there:
“Look at the U.K.,” White said. “When we went to the U.K. the first time – it was in like 2002 or 2003 – and there was nothing. Literally nothing. Ian Freeman had come out of (the U.K.). We did that fight at the Royal Albert Hall, and we sold like 4,500 tickets to that thing. Look at it now.
“In the Middle East – in Abu Dhabi, (United Arab Emirates) – part of kids’ curriculum in school is jiu jitsu. From kindergarten up, it’s like English or math. It’s mandatory. You have to take jiu jitsu. Trust me, it’s a lot bigger there than you realize.”
While there may be some base of support for the grappling arts in this small and isolated nation, the economic base does not exist to make this a profitable venture. There are only six million people in all of the United Arab Emirates, half of whom are foreigners from South East Asia without the disposable income to become customers. Sure, you could begin the long process of converting a handful of rich Arabs into UFC fans. But, as Watch Kalib Run’s Zak Woods points out, Brazil may be the better long term bet. Not only is the country MMA’s spiritual home, it is also a budding economic powerhouse:
Why not focus on Brazil instead? The country has an immediate natural talent pool to draw from and a fantastic martial arts tradition. Couple that with Brazil’s population, (close to 200 million) and the consumer power of a country whose GDP is in the top-ten in the world and it appears that Brazil is an ideal candidate for expansion.
It will be interesting to see how this progresses. In his recent speech at the UFC Fan Expo, Lorenzo Fertitta suggested that international seasons of TUF would be filmed for the local market only. This would allow the shows to focus their efforts on creating television that is suited for each individual country. White’s recent remarks make mention of SPIKE TV filming these international seasons for American television. Will Americans, in the midst of two wars in the region, really support three months of television with Arabs as the lead characters, as both heroes and villians? If so, it will be an unprecedented leap. I expect plenty of living rooms to break out into shouts of “USA, USA, USA” only to have televisions click off en masse when no tattooed and foul mouthed hero emerges to set things right. In short, a Middle Eastern TUF, on American TV, could be nothing short of a disaster.
UPDATE: Reader Beer Monster (if that is his real name) makes a solid point:
A Middle Eastern TUF will fail on American television – not even for patriotic reasons. Fans won’t want to watch a show that’s almost completely subtitled. Do they only use fighters that speak English? It just won’t work.