UFC Gyms Launching As Company's First Major Brand Extension

The owners of the UFC and the founder of 24 Hour Fitness today announced that they are launching UFC Gyms, the first major brand extension of the UFC. The venture will be a 50-50 partnership between the UFC and New Evolution Fitness Company, which is owned by Jim Rowley and Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24 Hour Fitness, said UFC President Dana White. Mastrov resigned as chair of 24 Hour Fitness last year, according to published reports. "We will kick the (expletive) out of everyone in the fitness industry,” White said in a telephone interview yesterday. “We will go after 24 Hour Fitness, Bally’s, all of those guys." White said the gyms will offer group and one-on-one boxing and MMA training, as well as the typical health club offerings. White added that UFC Gyms will be marketed to men, women and children, and he expects UFC fans will sign up as members. White noted he was a boxing trainer at a 24 Hour Fitness club 15 years ago. Mastrov in a statement, said, "I have been a long time fan and admirer of the UFC. An introduction from a friend to Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White of the UFC, immediately sparked the idea of combining the strength of the UFC with our expertise in the fitness industry" (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal). Fertitta: "This is going to become its own separate, profitable business and company on the side, and we're talking about rolling out hundreds of gyms all over the place" (AP, 1/27).

NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER'S GYM: USA TODAY's Beau Dure notes the gyms will have a "healthy dose of UFC atmosphere" and will feature UFC's trademark eight-sided cages. In addition to typical gym equipment, the facilities may feature workouts that include "flipping tires, lifting chains, swinging sledgehammers or lugging bricks." The facilities also will come with "flat-screen TVs offering UFC footage as well as the usual cable choices," as well as what Mastrov calls music with "nice bass." White said of the fitness industry, "A lot of it hasn't changed much since the 60s -- a lot of the same equipment, a lot of the same stuff going on. We're going to have treadmills and weights for people who still want that, but there's going to be a lot of different things." Mastrov: "If you look at the world today when it comes to training, everybody's starting to morph off into what I call nontraditional training. What UFC Gyms is going to do is leverage that" (USATODAY.com, 1/27).