MMA lifestyle apparel a ripe opportunity

MMA Payout has some excellent links and analysis on the explosion of MMA (mixed martial arts) apparel brands:

A still growing industry like MMA lifestyle apparel was key in providing the doorway of opportunity for Illicit. A direct leap into the surf and skate market would have been improbable but their MMA play allowed them to achieve their end goal of having a foot in surf and skate, with the added bonus of having a more diversified product offering in the end than their competitors by virtue of their MMA and motocross offerings. Theirs may not be a pure MMA play but such hybrid mixes of Surf/Skate/MMA look to be a growing trend of the future. The recent Virtue Expo is another signal that this will be a growth area of the future of MMA lifestyle apparel.

My take
The MMA apparel market is full of tiny, me-too brands, with only Affliction and Tapout rising to the top. The industry is in its infancy, and there's plenty of opportunity for the right brand to carve out a place for itself. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the action sports industry in the early 90s when a ton of brands emerged and a few, like Element, survived to become juggernauts. That said, MMA is already a much more sophisticated industry that's learned from a lot of the successes and failures of previous lifestyle brands, so I don't think it will stay like this for long.

The other nut to crack is the crossover between MMA and action sports. While it is clear that there is some crossover, nobody has quite figured out exactly what the right play is, how it should look, or how one might go about structuring a roster of athletes that is credible and relevant in both industries. Osiris, with their sponsorships and shoes from Brandon Vera and Quinton Jackson, is probably the best example right now. UFC fighter Josh Koscheck's company, Mar Clothing, is also an interesting move.

See 5ones' take on the subject for more ideas.