MMA and Social Media

MMA. Mixed Martial Arts. What is it? As the name says, its a sport where athletes are skilled in various styles or disciplines and compete against one and another. Some may liken it to 'human cock fighting' or simply brawling, but it has strict rules and regulations, medical check ups and many other frameworks that are placed to ensure the safety of athletes. Now i won't go into depth the whole history of it, how it developed, what are some of the best matches, best organisations etc, but I'd like to talk about how social media has been a crazy influence on the sport.

Before the internet, very few people ever heard of MMA. It was limited to VHS, magazine articles or chatting with another person. In recent years with social media becoming more apparent in the everyday lives of people (i.e. facebook), people are learning more about the sport and actually connecting with those involved.

For example, Dana White. The president of the UFC. I'd be hard pressed to find another president of an organisation as vocal as he. While he has been involved in few incidents in the past as how he chose to express himself, he is constantly using Twitter and video blogs to connect with fans of the sport.

Always on the move and educating users what his planning on doing or his thoughts on certain events, this level of transparency he displays not only creates a connection with fans, but creates a sense of trust.

Also, with MMA events occurring throughout the world, social media allows us to learn whats happening exactly and most importantly 2 way communication. Users can debate over fighters, events, training methods etc and even connect with some of the athletes.

Over the past few years, as a long time follower of the sport I've seen countless amounts of websites and blogs about MMA pop up. Many of the top sport magazines such as Sports Illustrated or ESPN have even included MMA on their front pages with the growing fan base.

The use of social media will become more evident in MMA in the next few years. The UFC had established their own Youtube page and provide constant updates whilst other organisations have used it as a channel for those who don't have access to the televised feed. K1, a japanese organisation has even provided subtitles for their online promotions has shown their support for online capabilities and their international support.

Anyone interested in MMA or a strong example of how they use social media should visit www.mmafighting.com.