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Fearless:A Lifestyle Choice

Fearless:A Lifestyle Choice

Amidst the usual mix of snooker, motor-racing, football and of course, cricket, you may have noticed an added emphasis on something called “MMA”. You've probably walked into a video game store on the way to pick up the latest edition of FIFA or Pro Evo only to notice posters for something called UFC Undisputed everywhere.

 

For those of you who don't know, MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts and is the umbrella word for the sport. And it could very well be that it's sending Boxing to an early grave, replacing it as the toughest sport to date. In 2006, the Ultimate Fighting Championship broke the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, earning over $220 million, beating both boxing and WWE. If that's not enough, the sport has gone from strength to strength; as of 2010 UFC programming is now shown in 130 countries worldwide, and there's no sign of the sport slowing down.

 

With the recent announcement that the UFC has set up an office in the UK, and that the sport will start airing on Sky Sports, it's no surprise that budding entrepreneurs are seeing business opportunities everywhere they look.

  Fearless:A Lifestyle Choice

Jack and Avi Sehgal are a husband and wife team and felt that it was about time long-time fans of the sport had a place they could go to in the East Midlands for all their MMA goods.

 

Jack said; “Since I was young, I've always been interested in combat sports. I've tried my hand at wrestling and Thai Boxing as a hobby, and when UFC launched, I was interested from the start…MMA is very real and has no gimmicks. It's got an even playing field, depending solely on skill set and mental fortitude and people really appreciate that.”

 

Avi, Jack's wife and business partner explained more about what services the store provides. “The store sells supplements ranging from protein powders to metabolic accelerators, and general life-style products. We sell MMA-related fashion products as well as fight gear, training equipment such as boxing gloves and shin-guards, as well as supplying people with gift ideas and general advice such as which gyms to go to and what supplements might best suit an individual.”

 

Most stores catering to a niche market can usually be found in the UK's major cities, including London, Manchester and Birmingham. With this in mind, it seems strange that a store like Fearless Fightwear has been opened in Nottingham as opposed to one of the UK's larger cities. Both Jack and Avi were quick to assure that plenty of time and thought went into choosing the right location for their flagship store.

 

“We chose Nottingham because we felt that the city has a tradition of being a fight city. We have a number of fighters involved in the UFC who are from Nottingham themselves such as Dan Hardy. Dean Amasinger, and Paul Daley who's now involved with Strikeforce.” said Jack.

  Fearless:A Lifestyle Choice

Avi was quick to agree with Jack; “In Nottingham, there are a lot of boxing academies. Nottingham Rough House Gyms have produced some of the best welterweight fighters in the world with the most recognised names.”

 

With the Recession still in full swing, it might seem like a bad time to start a new business, especially one which targets such a specific consumer-base. But Avi feels that Fearless Fightwear might just edge out the rest of the competition thanks to its unique selling point.

 

“Of course competition is a worry, but we are the first MMA retail store in Nottingham. The most important thing to remember is that we are fans. We're not a corporate, we're not just interested in making a living, but we're dedicated to adding something to the MMA community. We're interested in sponsoring fighters and upcoming talent. We just want to share the love for the sport and provide a place where people can come and talk about it.”

 To find out more about Fearless Fightwear, you can visit their website at www.fearless-fightwear.com