· Success In Australia Bodes Well For Zuffa

If there is something to be learned from the UFC’s two ventures into Australia over the past year, it is that there is a very real demand for the world’s premier MMA organization to hold even more events Down Under. The UFC has now sold out the Acer Arena twice (this last time in an incredible two hours) and the reviews have been exceedingly positive. Zuffa would presumably have to rate this latest international show as a rousing success.

Although the pay-per-view revenue is typically much less with shows outside of North America, it must be encouraging for Zuffa to know that they can quickly sell out large arenas overseas and earn strong live gates, while helping to expose new groups of people to their product. Marshall Zelaznik, the UFC's managing director of international development, indicated that UFC 127 brought int 18,186 attendees for an estimated $3.5 million gate. The numbers represent a considerable increase from the UFC's Sydney debut in 2010 (17,831 in attendance, $2.5 million gate); as a result, Melbourne's Etihad Stadium (seating roughly 55,000) is on the horizon for a future production.

It appears that Australia will be a consistent new host of UFC events going forward. In that respect, the Aussies have several things going for them:

1. Australia has a sizable population of young people which includes an already decent-sized group of combat sports/MMA fans.

2. The median household income is comparable to that of the United States and Canada, so there is a wealth of discretionary dollars to compete for.

3. MMA fans there have demonstrated a real desire to pay a premium amount for live shows and the demand for the product currently outpaces the supply of quality events in that market.

4. There are a few homegrown fighters that fans can be excited about. It is not known whether or not we’ll see Aussie fighters competing for a world championship anytime in the near future, but several have already shown that they definitely belong in the UFC. Fighters like George Sotiropolous and Kyle Noke have acquitted themselves very well at the world-class level and their presence offers yet another reason for Australian MMA fans to be excited about this sport.

It would not be surprising if 2012 sees the UFC add at least one additional Australia event to their schedule, and it is even possible that they might decide to bring another show there before the end of this year. From a global marketing perspective, Zuffa will want to continue to help increase awareness for their product in western Europe, and we’ve all read about the overtures that they’ve made toward Asian markets (with television deals in places like Japan, China, etc). Although many MMA journalists and bloggers have correctly outlined the obstacles that Zuffa would face in running events in Japan, the Australian market has proven to be a very pleasant surprise for the UFC’s parent company.

It is doubtful that the folks in the UFC front offices counted on or expected the outstanding response that they have received from the fans in Sydney, but it should now be clear that Australians have a strong hunger for UFC events and they are more than willing to fork over a healthy amount of money for tickets. Accordingly, Zuffa would be wise to go ahead and schedule a few more trips to the Land Down Under in the near future.