It is no secret. The UFC’s policy toward websites that focus on mixed martial arts is not a very open one. From the websites at the top of the heap of online mixed martial arts coverage like Sherdog, to rising stars like MMAJunkie and FiveOuncesofPain, and all the rest who work tirelessly to provide the latest news on your favorite sport, none are given the considerations that other MMA promotions offer them.
What is it that MMA websites receive from other promotions? It is common for companies like EliteXC, the IFL, Strikeforce, and HDNet Fights to allow a certain number of journalists to attend events free of charge in return for expected mention in whatever media the journalist works in. Usually press releases are also sent directly via email to reporters, and invitations are made so that members of the media can attend conference calls with athletes.
That is the norm. However for several years now the UFC has only granted such accommodations to large print and television outlets. If an MMA website is lucky enough to have a contributor whose day job is with a large newspaper, then they can sometimes get a spot on the UFC’s conference calls or access to events, but barring such luxuries, one is out of luck.
There is an exception to the above observation, in that Kevin Iole, a writer for Yahoo!’s MMA page is given access to UFC press events. Iole seems to have direct access to UFC executives like Dana White, because Yahoo! does offer a large audience.
Why might the UFC be so picky about this? The ban on internet website coverage came about in an era when mixed martial arts’ position was precarious in the United States. Lawmakers for a brief moment had turned scrutinizing eyes to the sport and the risk of over-regulation or even prohibition encouraged the UFC to be very careful about how it was portayed to the world.
So as it stands today without acknowledgement from the UFC itself, MMA websites tend to get their UFC stories from fighters, managers, and well, each other.
How Long Before the UFC Changes its Tune?
All things come to an end, policies included. What might push the UFC to become more open to social media like aspiring MMA fan sites? Competition. At the moment the UFC is of course leaps and bounds ahead of any who would wish to pry away its perch atop the MMA landscape. But in many industries when there is a Coke there is a Pepsi, and a serious contender may distinguish itself from others at some point. And that contender will likely have strong pre-existing relationships with the multitude of sites that cover MMA today. If the UFC comes to a point when it feels the need to maximize its public relations’ team’s reach, it would then take advantage of the constellation of online MMA websites’ eagerness to cover the UFC.
I predict that the UFC will indeed someday fully embrace the internet’s potential, from blogs, forums, social networks, applications like Twitter, and yes, all of the sites who work so hard to bring you the best MMA news out there.
When? Perhaps we’ll have to wait for new management, and Dana White doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. The decision to change such an entrenched policy will likely need to come from the top.
To better understand the current lay of the land, on this episode of MMAPredictions Radio, we break our traditional preference of being under 15 minutes in length, as the show will accomodate conversations with Adam Morgan of Five Ounces of Pain, a site with significant readership and that is not given access to the UFC’s public relations team, and Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole, who does have such access. (I should note that we reached out to writers on several of the larger online MMA destinations and only heard back from these two).
I want to clarify that this piece is not an attempt to point fingers at anyone, nor single any promoter or journalist out. Nor is it an attempt to shake our humble fist in the air and suggest that anything should be differently. I hope that I don’t come across as such in our conversations today. All in all I was interested in documenting and analyzing the situation, as I am wont to do.
After the recording stopped with Kevin we continued to talk for a few minutes and I mentioned the possibility that indeed there is nothing unusual about the way the UFC is careful about to whom it gives credentials. Although it is the outlier in its policy regarding press credentials for MMA websites, perhaps the case is that those of us who write for MMA sites and cover the MMA scene are just spoiled by organizations who are desperate for more attention and will credential anyone. If one steps back and considers the media policies of the NFL, NBA, or MLB, they too are very selective.
In the end, if the UFC ever does decide to change its approach to MMA websites, it will most likely be on a case by case basis, starting with the websites with the largest reach and those with a history of covering the sport in a professional manner.
I do want to say that we did try and contact the UFC for comment on the story. I sent an email to the UFC’s director of Public Relations and did not hear back. Granted I did not give her much notice so perhaps she simply didn’t get to it and we may hear from them shortly. In any case they are welcome on the show any time.
Hope you enjoy this week’s episode of MMAPredictions Radio. If you have any comments on the matter, feel free to make them in our MMA forum or you can contact me directly.
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UPDATE January 28, 2008 10:59AM PST: This article regarding a company that sent the message that engaging online commentators was not important contains a lesson that other companies may do well to observe.
- Caleb 
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. We thought we might as well play it now before Rich Franklin’s big fight this weekend against