Latinos Push UFC Growth

Latino viewers are powering the growth of the UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, league, which is a growing sport. According to a report from MediaPost, Latinos make up 1 out of 5 viewers:

For a sport that caters primarily to the male 18-34 demographic, Latinos, who make up 20% of this audience, represent a key portion of UFC’s viewership. In fact, recent Simmons data show that they are even more enthusiastic about the UFC than their non-Latino counterparts, with 37% of Latino males 18-34 saying they are “very interested” in the UFC, compared to 23% of non-Latino males in the same age group. Latino males 18-34 are also more involved fans of the sport and are 25% more likely to say they view UFC fights on pay-per-view than non-Latinos.

The networks are certainly taking note. In February of last year, the UFC announced that it would begin broadcasting its pay-per-view events in Spanish. This year, MTV Tr3s jumped on the bandwagon, signing a deal to broadcast the fight promotion Bellator’s fourth season starting March 6. Bellator has several fighters of Latino heritage: Eddie Alvarez, Hector Lombard, Jose Vega, Jessica Aguilar, Nazareno “Naza” Malegaire, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, Wilson Reis, Lyman Goodman, Chris Lozano, and Daniel Gracie, among others. Strikeforce, another MMA promotion company, also boasts several Latino fighters, including Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez, otherwise known as “El Niño.”

The UFC also has a growing number of Latino fighters, including Kenny Florian, Tito Ortiz, Diego Sanchez, and Miguel Angel Torres, and, most importantly, the current heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez.

But none of this is surprising. The NFL is reaching out to Latinos, so is the NBA, and the truth is, so is everyone else. If these companies want to continue to grow and make more money, they have no choice. The “Latino market” is worth more than $1 trillion, so it’s not a matter of being politically correct when these corporate entities change what they’re doing to cater to Latinos, it’s just business sense.