The Semaphore Enterntainment Group (SEG) started the mixed martial art sport known as the Ultimate Fighter Championship (UFC) and marketed it as a human cockfight, which initially triggered a lot of spark. However, the sport was banned in a few states and many others quickly followed- this drove the company nearly bankrupt. Dana White and a few other investors decided to take a risk in the failing business by purchasing it from SEG in 2001. Many thought that it was a poor investment decision, but these guys felt that they could turn their $2 million dollar purchase around. Their original plan was to air a few Pay-Per-Views, make a few quick bucks, and flip the company- that, of course, was not the case.
The first major business decision White made was to alter the UFC’s marketing strategy. “Human cockfights” were obviously not popular amongst legislatures so instead, he marketed the company as a sport with amazing athletes. One of their biggest challenges was to change the perception the press created for the UFC since its early beginnings. “They always say as long as you’re getting press, whether it’s good or bad, it’s a positive thing. I’ve never agreed with that. I think that too much bad press can kill you,” said White. Therefor, White took the approach of going back to the press as the “knight in shining armor” by stating that they are the good guys that are going to change the sport around.
White spent most of their initial earnings on throwing promotional events, thousands of billboards in downtown areas, and small acquisitions. At one point, he and his investors found themselves $44 million in debt. However, this did not stop them from continuing their venture, which is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The mixed martial arts industry as a whole has grown enormously and there’s nothing in the way of Dana ambition to grow the UFC.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/ufc/index.html
http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=LearnUFC.History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufc
