In case there was any doubt that the UFC had gone mainstream — Cuban sees bright future for MMA:
Now the 49-year-old billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks is ready to step full force into mixed martial arts — both as a promoter of big-budget events and the driving influence behind a fledgling television network he intends to make the premiere destination for MMA-related programming.Dominated by the wildly popular Ultimate Fighting Championship, which, according to SpikeTV, managed to attract more young men this past Saturday to the tape-delayed broadcast from London, England, than any college football game or NASCAR race could the same day, it’s clear the combat sport has successfully grappled its way into living rooms across America.
“I think the UFC is a unique property that has a unique approach,” Cuban told Sherdog.com during an e-mail interview. “I think Dana White and the Fertittas have done a remarkable job. [But] their model can only support a finite number of athletes, which leaves the door open for us to coexist.
“We certainly won’t be a minor league feeder for them. But I think we would compete minimally for top-end free agents only because UFC locks them up to exclusive deals. I think some fighters would prefer our open approach.”
The initial plan, as Cuban described it, was to pool quality regional MMA organizations such as Las Vegas-based Steele Cage Promotions, which in turn would promote often enough to provide regular programming for HDNet’s “Friday Fight Night” series.