Round 5 Targets Collectors
Jake Rossen Sep 22, 2010
My lone concession to MMA merchandising remains a seven-inch
plastic replica of Royce Gracie,
which sits on a desk I don’t use and resembles ancient
character actor Henry Silva more than it does the UFC’s first
tournament champion. (I once purchased a two-foot-diameter toy
Octagon, thinking it would lend atmosphere to a utility room.
Instead, people saw it and stopped coming over. It sits,
dissembled, in my basement. I think mice sleep on it, judging by
the pellets.)
My own disinterest aside, MMA paraphernalia has become very big business. Round 5, a company specializing in figurines, was reputed to break seven-figure sales in 2009 alone; Jakks Pacific, which produces an endless series of poseable figures that can break each other’s limbs, topped $3 million in profits for the second quarter of 2010, aided in some part by their association with the UFC.
In an effort to continue their upstart success, Round 5 announced this week they would be introducing a new line of “UFC Live” statues that depict famous bouts: the first, Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture, will be released this fall.
While I appreciate both companies working to provide ancillary income for licensed fighters, I have to say that no innovation will ever approach the imagination of the Japanese, who have released some of the most fascinating tie-in products this sport will ever see: Don Frye ramen noodles, a Mike Tyson/Akebono alarm clock and birth control bearing the face of Antonio Inoki, among others. Until U.S. companies can think outside the box -- a Tito Ortiz paperweight, an Art of War reprint with a foreword by Frank Mir -- I’m afraid my disposable income will remain directed at theme restaurants and repurchasing DVDs on Blu-Ray.
My own disinterest aside, MMA paraphernalia has become very big business. Round 5, a company specializing in figurines, was reputed to break seven-figure sales in 2009 alone; Jakks Pacific, which produces an endless series of poseable figures that can break each other’s limbs, topped $3 million in profits for the second quarter of 2010, aided in some part by their association with the UFC.
In an effort to continue their upstart success, Round 5 announced this week they would be introducing a new line of “UFC Live” statues that depict famous bouts: the first, Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture, will be released this fall.
While I appreciate both companies working to provide ancillary income for licensed fighters, I have to say that no innovation will ever approach the imagination of the Japanese, who have released some of the most fascinating tie-in products this sport will ever see: Don Frye ramen noodles, a Mike Tyson/Akebono alarm clock and birth control bearing the face of Antonio Inoki, among others. Until U.S. companies can think outside the box -- a Tito Ortiz paperweight, an Art of War reprint with a foreword by Frank Mir -- I’m afraid my disposable income will remain directed at theme restaurants and repurchasing DVDs on Blu-Ray.
