By Katrina Belcher (KatrinaBelcher@mmaratings.net)
Per my interview with Shonie Carter, this deal between George St. Pierre and Gatorade just might mean MMA has made it to mainstream America.
On March 22, 2009, along with many professional athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods (maybe/maybe not?), Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and more, GSP signed on to be a major part of Gatorade’s latest campaign as one of the faces of their "G" marketing campaign.
George St. Pierre vs. Gatorade promotional video!
Last week, the company who calls themselves: "The World’s Leading Mail-in Gold Buyer" signed Rashad Evans to a "Multi-Fight Deal". Cash4Gold, the world’s #1 gold buyer direct from consumers, has added former UFC light heavyweight champion "Suga" Rashad Evans to its MMA sponsorship portfolio. The deal kicked off with Evans’ matchup against Thiago Silva during UFC 108 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday, January 2, 2010.
"Rashad is an electrifying fighter with great charisma whose hard work and dedication are inspiring to everyone at Cash4Gold," said Cash4Gold CEO Jeff Aronson. "We have been fans of Rashad since the early days of his career and we look forward to building a strong relationship with him moving forward. One of the things about Rashad that really resonated with us at Cash4Gold is that he shares our company’s commitment to making charitable work a priority, and is always looking for ways to give back to the community."
Then just yesterday, World Extreme Cagefighting® announced that AMP Energy drink will serve as the organization’s Official Energy Drink for 2010; sponsoring three of WEC’s top stars, including featherweight Urijah Faber. One of the most prominent energy drinks in the world, AMP Energy will also serve as a key promotional partner for this year’s WEC events.
“We are pleased to have AMP Energy as the Official Energy Drink of WEC,” WEC Vice President Peter Dropick said. “AMP Energy is committed to working with the best athletes and organizations in the sports world and we are excited to have them on board.”
AMP Energy Drink will also sponsor featherweight prospect Chad Mendes and bantamweight title contender Joseph Benavidez.
“We’re excited to be partnering with WEC as its Official Energy Drink,” Dave Mingey, Vice President, Marketing, AMP Energy, said. “By teaming up with WEC and its talented athletes, we’ve positioned ourselves at the forefront of one of the fastest growing sports in the world.”
I think Shonie might be right – it’s come a long way, but MMA is about here to stay!
