Top Rank boxing promoter Bob Arum has had some interesting words to say about the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Mixed Martial Arts as a whole. Arum has played a major role in the development of combat sports as the CEO of Top Rank, one of the largest boxing promotions in the world.
Bob Arum played a major role in promoting the names of boxing legends such as Evander Holyfield, Miguel Cotto, and Manny Pacquiao. During that time he was also involved in one of the most heated rivalries with Don King that would easily match any of those seen in the ring or cage. Now, with the emergence of MMA seemingly taking the place of boxing; Arum has turned his attention towards the largest promotion around today.
In a recent interview with Sergio Non, Arum had the following things to say about the UFC and MMA as a whole. In this interview, Arum stated that the future of the UFC is “limited” for a number of reasons. He believes that the UFC’s main demographic is too limited to white males.
“The Hispanics don’t care anything for it,” Arum said. “Most African-Americans don’t watch it. The success of boxing is not, because it reaches those groups. The only demographic that boxing has lost is the white, young males, period.”
While some experts may be quick to write Arum’s words off, you have to wonder if he may be correct. As MMA grows, I for one wonder how does it reach out to the minority sports fan. As an avid fan myself, I have found that few and far of my minority friends follow the sport. When I’m watching a UFC event it’s normally with a room full of my friends who are part of the majority racial demographic.
This is even more interesting when you look at the list of prominent African American and Hispanic stars that are ranked within the sport. The UFC alone has big names such as Rashad Evans, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Jon Jones, and Melvin Guillard. Strikeforce has former champion Muhammed Lawal sitting near the top of its rankings. With standout competitors such as these on their rosters, one has to wonder why the minority fan does not watch the events as often.
As a biracial minority I find Arum’s comments interesting. When I watch or talk about MMA, it’s always with my friends who are part of the racial majority. I can only think of one other individual who actually watches the sport. When Shane Moseley and Floyd Mayweather fought last summer, boxing’s minority fan base was clamoring for the event. Personally, I feel that UFC has to do some major work before it can take into that demographic.
Does this mean featuring more minority fighters? I believe that is unrealistic due to the possible lack of participation. However, the promotion should look into the situation and see how they can better market their product to minority viewers. The UFC has a number of stars on their roster that they can use as “faces” of the organization, the same way they helped push Chuck Liddell to mainstream popularity.
The apparent lack of minority presence among UFC and MMA fans is an interesting situation pointed out by Arum. However, I do not believe that will limit the growth of the sport. Boxing should be more worried about what they will do to keep the fans they have, before those eyes are also pulled away by the lure of mixed martial arts.
