The Emergence of Mixed Martial-Arts and the Future of Boxing: An Analysis of Consumer Interest and Compensation-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The Emergence of Mixed Martial-Arts and the Future of Boxing: An Analysis of Consumer Interest and Compensation

Published:2023-02-17 Issue: Volume: Page:152700252311560
ISSN:1527-0025
Container-title:Journal of Sports Economics
language:en
Short-container-title:Journal of Sports Economics

Author:

Watanabe Nicholas M.¹^ORCID,Soebbing Brian P.²,Chahardovali Tarlan¹,Huang Yinle²^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

2. Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Abstract

Despite its long-standing history as the most popular and mainstream combat sport, boxing has been confronted with increased competition from mixed martial arts (MMA) in recent decades. The dominant organization in the MMA market, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has grown to become a multibillion dollar organization. In this article, we directly compare consumer interest and fighter compensation between boxing and the UFC to consider the economic potential for these combat sports into the future. Overall, our conclusions indicate that boxing has continued to be more lucrative as a whole, with the key factor being the presence of superstar athletes.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)

Link

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/15270025231156058

Reference34 articles.

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2. New insights on the Louis-Schmeling paradox: determinants of demand for subscription and pay-per-view boxing