UFC proves that lifestyle brands are built, not bought

MSNBC has a short but good article on the UFC's complete dominance in the mixed martial arts industry:

Last month, mixed martial arts organization EliteXC failed. In the last few years, UFC has purchased a huge rival, Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships, along with
World Extreme Cagefighting and World Fighting. ”They offer the highest level of product in the marketplace,” said Shawn McBride, vice president of Ketchum Sports Network. “UFC is laser-focused on mixed martial arts. It’s a great case study.”

My take
As the article says, many rivals have tried to challenge the UFC, but all of them have failed and most of them no longer exist: Pride, IFL, WFA, Affliction, and most recently EliteXC (who also owned a slew of other shows including King of the Cage, ICON, and more). You could literally write a book about the specifics of each promotion's mistakes, but the big lesson is that you can't buy your way into lifestyle brands, you have to build them from the ground up. Frank Shamrock, an MMA veteran and one of the few people to make any money outside of the UFC, sums it up quite well in an MMA Payout interview:

The lesson from [EliteXC's] failure, Shamrock said, is that experience, not capital, is the most important contributor to success in MMA. “In a way they [Elite XC] were leaders because they lined up CBS and Showtime and no one had ever done that before. But they burned through $60 million because no one modeled the business and industry. It was inevitable.”

Contrast this ham-fisted appraoch with Nike's strategy for entering new markets. They take the long view, because they know it takes years to earn credibility and trust in soccer, skateboarding, snowboarding, or any other subculture. Unlike the UFC's rivals, though, they're willing and able to make the investment- and the results speak for themselves.