The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today the launch of UFC Gyms

[Clark Kent]

01-27-2009 08:22 AM: The Ultimate FightingChampionship announced today the launch of UFC Gyms in partnership withNew Evolution Fitness Company (NEFC).Here is an excerpt from the press release.

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[jarrod]

could this be the chain of mma mcdojos we've always hoped for?

jf

 

[crushing]

could this be the chain of mma mcdojos we've always hoped for?

jf

At the very least. Sounds like jobs to me.

 

[elder999]

could this be the chain of mma mcdojos we've always hoped for?

jf

It might be-but it might not be any worse than the franchises that Randy Couture and Bas Rutten have set up.....

 

[terryl965]

could this be the chain of mma mcdojos we've always hoped for?

jf

Maybe they will become the new TKD and we can get back to some serious training and people will leave us alone.YEA!!!

 

[CoryKS]

Will it have an in-house tattoo parlor / hair dye salon?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Well it will happen and the UFC name is a powerful brand right now. I imagine though that each gym will only be as good as the owner who has the skill sets to make it work. Still it does sound McDojo'ish.

 

[ChitNasty]

SWEEEEEET! Soon they will be handing out UFC MMA Black Belts for a small fee!

 

[Nolerama]

The same thing happened with skating in the late 90's. With the media popularity of action sports coming to a head, Vans decided to create a chain of skate parks in an attempt to cash in on memberships, ticket sales, and merchandise.

While it was pretty fun for a while to visit some of the these parks, it was a skater version of a McDojo. I remember entering a transition on the vert spine (catching air and blindly rolling down another ramp) and crashed into a 6 y/o whose mom wasn't watching him. Luckily he was okay, but that soured my taste on corporately-owned places like Vans Skateparks...

If one opens up in STL, I'll check it out, but frankly, I see them opening and closing shop within a year or so due to the high cost of brand ownership.

Besides, what kind of people would that attract? I'll take my Club and training group over MMA fanboys any day. The smell of Tapout gear makes me dizzy, too.

BJJ instructors: what would you think about people joining your gym with a UFC Blackbelt under their waist? I'd be very surprised if the UFC gyms didn't offer a belt system.

 

[Andrew Green]

I'd be very surprised if the UFC gyms didn't offer a belt system.

I think there is some misunderstanding of what they are planning. They have stated " The gyms aren't intended for professional or amateur fighters."

But they are intending to compete with fitness facilities, not martial arts clubs. They are working with the founder of 24 hour Fitness to put this effort together, not a bunch of MMA instructors.

Now I suspect they will have lots of fitness boxing / kickboxing stuff, which other fitness chains do as well, but this is not going to be a chain of martial arts gyms, but a chain of fitness centres.

 

[Jimi]

A UFC Gym might hold on for at least a while. With all the youth out there looking to train & fight, what better to draw in their money (Or Family's money) than the OFFICIAL UFC GYM? Teens & Young Adults will clammer to say I workout at the UFC Gym, just to drop the name. If you notice the adds during UFC fights & shows like Ultimate Fighter, this will target the youth demographic and get it, at least for a while. These UFC Gyms might even find a few potential Future Champs, but most likely just get the money from those who want the training to go to a club and GROUND & POUND someone or snap someones arm in an ARM BAR or just those wanting to wear TAP OUT & UFC Gear. Not saying Instruction will not be good, I am sure there will be damn competent Instructors/Coaches, I just feel the young wanna be B^d^$$ will be the bulk of the income. I would not call it McDojoish quite yet, give it a chance & see. Then call it McDojo Just kidding. PEACE

 

[Nolerama]

I think there is some misunderstanding of what they are planning. They have stated " The gyms aren't intended for professional or amateur fighters."

But they are intending to compete with fitness facilities, not martial arts clubs. They are working with the founder of 24 hour Fitness to put this effort together, not a bunch of MMA instructors.

Now I suspect they will have lots of fitness boxing / kickboxing stuff, which other fitness chains do as well, but this is not going to be a chain of martial arts gyms, but a chain of fitness centres.

Hmm.. There's a chain of gyms in my area called The Boxing Gym that do cardio kickboxing/boxing and some form of conditioning. There's a few trainers that operate within that organization who charge extra to train fighters, but from what I've seen, it's few and far between. One of those gyms even has a MMA group.

But generally speaking, those gyms actively advertise that you can learn to box without getting hit... I shake my head every time I see that. Yeah, you can learn to throw a punch at a bag, but I question the functionality of such a setup.

Well, I'll wait and see what happens. Thanks ANdrew.

 

[jarrod]

i'm not saying it might not be a good thing...i mean, all those tools that tell chicks that they are UFC fighters or ultimate fighters might not be lying now.

jf