http://mmajunkie.com/news/28437/ufc...rns-promotion-to-monitor-fighter-behavior.mma UFC sponsor Anheuser-Busch warns promotion to monitor fighter behavior. Blue-chip sponsor Anheuser-Busch has sent a message that it's keeping an eye on the behavior of UFC fighters outside the cage. The multi-national brewer, which owns the Bud Light and Bud Light Lime brands prominently advertised in the UFC, reprimanded the fight promotion for a series of sexist and homophobic remarks made by fighters in public and over social media. "If the incidents continue, we will act," Anheuser-Busch said in a statement prepared for Advertising Age. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) could not reach Anheuser-Busch for additional comment. "With over 425 athletes on our roster, there have unfortunately been instances where a couple athletes have made insensitive or inappropriate comments," stated the UFC in a release issued to Advertising Age and MMAjunkie.com. "We don't condone this behavior, and in no way is it reflective of the company or its values. As an organization, we are progressive in social media and unlike most other sports leagues, we encourage our athletes to engage online. It is part of our company culture and whenever you are at the forefront of a trend or initiative, it comes with its own pitfalls. The UFC recently has been under an awful amount of scrutiny. Will its success and monopoly status in the sport be its own demise?
It's a WWE reference. Anyway dont see how the can sanitise the sport for corporate sponsors without killing it. Like post attitude WWE
This is the way i see it. They already modified the rules years ago to make it more palatable when Senator McCain went after them. Now their brand recognition and popularity is placing them under a ton of scrutiny. The bigger the brand becomes the worse it gets. Their monopoly status doesn't help them at all. As if there were other orgs of equal stature the spot light wouldn't be on them so much. I don't see how they can get away with it especially with a caveman like Dana at the helm.
As iv said umpteen times this sport isn't half as mainstream as fans like to think it is. And Dana makes a very valid point. You ask me the UFC should up and move its base of operations to Japan and rename itself to PRIDE. Sheeeeit the cash registers would be rolling in and everyone could juice till the sun don't shine!
You've got to expect this type of thing to happen. The UFC is the fastest rising organization I can remember in not only sports, but even as a pure business entity. They are opening markets very quickly all across the globe. I feel some of these sponsors are just stating such things to put on a proper PR show. They would be crazy to drop the UFC, especially at this time. I wish I could buy stock in UFC, but they are a private company. MMA will be around a long time. And the way Dana and the Fertittas are running things, they will be the king pins for a long time to come as well.
Why would having the athletes facing more scrutiny for their out of cage behaviour be any different to other major sports?