Rashad and Rampage- The Demographics

The UFC, and MMA in general, seems to appeal to the 18-34 demographic of caucasian men in the greatest amounts. Sure there are fans that represent various racial backgrounds, and the sport has more than its fair share of female fans as well. However, since the UFC has exploded into mainstream and popular culture, it is safe to say the biggest supporters of the sport have been the aforementioned demographic.

in advance, I'd like to state that this written piece is not meant to convey any bigotry or prejuidice. I simply will be questioning the UFC's opprotunity to expand its African American audience.

This coming Saturday Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will be meeting Rashad "Sugar" Evans in the 8-sided circle in a bout that should have taken place last year. The hype coming into this fight is pretty warranted. Not only are both combatants title contenders, they are also two of the best trash talkers in the business. When it comes to the war of words, these two have put on quite a show, and the UFC has been right there to distribute the "beef" for all to see.



When it comes to capitalizing on opportunity, the UFC is second to none. While other emerging promotions or upstarts are looking to just turn a buck or convert to PPV, the UFC is going places with marketing and promotion that are unprecedented. The fighters write best-selling books. The Undisputed video game is selling in the millions. The Ultimate Fighter is still going strong......but the UFC has yet to really capture the imagination of the "black demographic". Rampage and Rashad may be the answer.



On a small scale, to punctuate a point, I am going to reference the school I work in. I teach in an urban district that is represented largely by minority students. I coach three sports at the school and am very connected with the students, athletes, and staff members. Most are all about boxing and the next Mayweather conquest, but this fight coming Saturday has created quite the buzz. I have heard multiple students and coworkers of color state that they "are getting that fight this weekend."

There had been an initial push to include the black demographic on the series of TUF when Rampage and Rashad coached. Kimbo Slice was brought in, and it appeared that this may become a defining moment in expanding the demographic to include black males. A lot of things backfired on Zuffa during this time though. First of all, Kimbo never won a fight on the show. He showed heart, but was ultimately stopped easily by Roy Nelson. Then Rampage backed out of the fight with Rashad to film The A-Team. What could have been a great moment in demographic expansion seemingly backfired.

Fast-forward to the present day, and the smack-talk has sky-rocketed to an all-time high. Some of it has bordered on being politically incorrect to say the least. Rashad has accussed Rampage of "dummying" himself down to fit stereotypes and making African Americans look bad. Rampage has countered with words that pretty much make him appear to be homophobic and intolerant of alternate lifestyles. I guess in the end, the only thing that matters is.....Is this good for business? The buy-rates will tell that story after this Saturday.

One thing I don't understand about this card in regards to picking up where the UFC left off in terms of inclusion of the black audience is the card itself. The only other fighter of African American decent fighting on the card is Melvin Guillard, and that is an under card fight that may not be seen. It seems Kimbo could have been saved for this card to propel the original thinking with that season of The Ultimate Fighter. Maybe Jon Jones could have been used differently? Hopefully, at the very least his VS fight w/ The Janitor will be highlighted . John Howard could have been fighting perhaps.

I like the card, and I'm not complaining. I'm just wondering if Zuffa is not doing all it could to maximize its growth potential demographically. For one reason or another, they have not been able to captivate the black audience. Rampage vs. Rashad seems like the perfect backdrop to highlight other African American fighters and expand the overall fanbase. As a fan, I'm kind of shocked it's not happening. Instead, the company has replayed Jackson's "black on black" crime sentiments over and over along with the two opponents nose to nose "drilling" one another and purpotrating stereotypes. I confess to finding this as intruiging as the next guy, but in the end, I'm not sure it's whats best for the growth of the sport or educating fans.