The Booming Billion Dollar Business of Combat Sports

An estimated 300 million people now consider themselves fans of Mixed Martial Arts and popularity is at its highest in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Singapore, and China

And increasing numbers of people are trying the sport out themselves. Last year, in the United States alone, the market for martial arts studios and clubs had grown to be worth an estimated 9 billion dollars.

Two massive martial arts media companies are currently sitting at the top of the industry providing innovative ways for fans to enjoy the action. The UFC and the ONE Championship are now both worth well over a billion dollars according to recent market capitalisation figures.

Dana White’s Las Vegas-based UFC now has a 10-billion-dollar market cap, with Chatri Sityodtong’s ONE Championship valued at 1.4 billion Dollars. But this explosion of popularity extends to other brands too – such as Bellator and the Professional Fighters League.

And the big fight between the brands now is all about how fans watch the content. Streaming services and social media platforms have become the battleground set to decide the future of the industry.

According to Chatri Sityodtong the Chairman and CEO of the ONE Championship, combat sports have the edge over ball sports and Formula One racing when it comes to consuming content on a portable phone. He says that these sports are too “long form” for the smaller screen and in the case of ball sports, it can sometimes be difficult to see the ball.

“If you take a look at your phone, where millennials and Gen Z live. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook etcetera - you can see a flying knee. You can see a head kick K.O. Bite-sized content, live, that's what combat sports are - you know there’s three rounds