BSN sponsors UFC champs Forrest Griffin and Minotauro Nogeuira

A few months back, sports nutrition giant BSN became the official supplement sponsor of the UFC. It was an excellent move, but at the time, their roster of athletes, online presence, and other components didn't quite work with it. As I hoped and expected, though, they've made huge strides and are looking really good.

First, they sponsored the perfect fighters, Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rodrido "Minotauro" Nogeuira. Forrest, the newly crowned UFC lightheavyweight champ TUF season one winnger, is incredibly popular with casual fans. He's begrudgingly earned the approval of hardcore fans like me after beating Shogun and Rampage, and you really couldn't wish for a better spokeperson for mainstream fans. He sported a BSN hat and t-shirt during an interview on last night's TUF finale for a good 2 or 3 minutes.

What's really brilliant, though, is that they also sponsored Nogeuira. Nog is an absolute legend who is universally respected and loved by hardcore fans. He's mostly known for his fights in Japan, so his profile is the US is much lower than Forrest's, but assuming he beats both Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar (pretty likely), he should enjoy much higher awareness.

By sponsoring these two fighters, they gain awareness with mainstream viewers while also earning the respect of hardcore fans. It's the blueprint for success in lifestyle marketing and I'm confident it will pay off handsomely for them.