When the UFC waged war to bring the sport of Mixed Martial Arts back from its death sentence in the late 1990&’s, one of the key places it went to for support was New Jersey. Along with Nevada, New Jersey had staged more fights, both boxing and MMA, had a solid amateur wrestling platform, casino gambling and was wrapped by two large urban areas.
The state also had a commission that was willing to look at the cleaned up version of MMA that Dana White, a legion of new faces and the backing of Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta were putting forth as a legitimate alternative to boxing, one that was no longer “Human Cockfighting” that was banned nationally but was still a pay per view sensation.
The casinos of Atlantic City took interest, especially since the sport was not legal in the neighboring states of New York and Pennsylvania, and off they went. MMA did well in AC for a good while, not just for the UFC but for many smaller shows that used ballrooms and Boardwalk Hall. More gyms dotted New Jersey, from larger more commercial organizations like Tiger Schulmann (which switched from just karate to MMA) to more concentrated training centers like those run by the various members of the Gracie family.
New Jersey, like Vegas, the plains of the Quad Cities and the Pacific Northwest, became a hotbed of what was perceived as a rising sport, especially among young, first adopting males.
Then came the economic downturn, the dropping of interest and rising costs in Atlantic City, and the influx of other events into the marketplace, and professional MMA almost fell off the map entirely in New Jersey. The UFC grew exponentially as an event, but without New Jersey as a regular stop on the calendar any more. Smaller events did OK, but New Jersey, even with a steady stable of training facilities throughout the state doing well, was still not on the major professional event map. It was a similar path that boxing had taken, where AC once stood amongst the “must be” venues, now it was an afterthought.
In the past few years the tide had started to turn though. Pennsylvania’s legalization of professional MMA served as a wakeup call for New Jersey as to revenue potential and new events, while several cards from the now-defunct International fight League drew solid numbers and strong media attention at the Izod Center. Then the Prudential Center decided to put a claim in on MMA potential, hosting a series of cards for the also-defunct Pro Elite brand, but with the great cache of Showtime and CBS along for the ride.
Even though the fight cards were not the greatest, they were on network TV, and generated attention and decent gates. All that interest, as well as the continuing lobbying across the river to get MMA legalized in New York, reached critical mass for the UFC's return to New Jersey last year. Fans of the UFC experience now had a chance to see the event in Philadelphia and New Jersey in a calendar year for the first time, and brand marketers curious as to what the hype was all about would get the chance to venture out and check out the goings-on.
The success of the New Jersey events even led Madison Square Garden to join in the lobbying effort for legalization in New York, with MSG head Scott O’Neil becoming an ardent supporter of the brand.
So with New York's legalization still in flux, New Jersey has become the late winter king of mega-shows for the sport of MMA again, not in Atlantic City, but in Newark and the Meadowlands. The proximity to the bright lights and dollars of Manhattan, the interest in suburban gyms, the newly engaged and growing wrestling programs and added interest amongst the Hispanic and African American audiences have put the Prudential Center as the home of the cage for at least the next six weeks.
On Saturday, Strikeforce, easily the second best promotion in the sport, will hold a Grand Prix style event at the Izod, featuring the Russian champion Fedor Emelianenko against Antonio Silva for a Showtime TV audience and a local crowd that could pull a great deal of support from the Brazilian community just a stone's throw from the Pru. Then on March 19 UFC 128 will call the Rock home for a sellout crowd and a large pay per view audience.
In previous years such mega events would have split an audience and worked against each other for a gate and for media attention. However it appears that the market and the economy have grown enough to support two such events within six weeks. Neither is an over-the-top card, and the audience scale will be larger for UFC than this Saturday, but both should generate healthy interest and buzz. Ironically what the two cards may also do is help the lobbying event for New York, as both promotions will hold special events across the river to showcase their talent for the media and potential brand partners who still may be hesitant to embrace the sport.
Regardless of the New York legislation, the two cards do signal a rebirth of sorts for the potential of the professional MMA event on a solid scale in New Jersey, events which will bring added media attention and even another set of new eyes back to Newark. That success could also bode well for Atlantic City’s rebound should the casinos move back to the big business of big events more consistently again in the future. MMA as a sport still has issues in gaining more mainstream consistent exposure, sponsors and a solid gate.
However the elite experience of UFC surpasses many live events these days, and the Showtime experience is not that far behind in presentation and usually in quality. If the next two events are a hit, New Jersey could move back into that elite status for the sport that it enjoyed with Vegas in days gone by. Good news for the event business and for the Garden State, from the small gyms to the arenas.
