| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study has been to identify the motivational factors prompting the
South African MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fan to attend events and how these factors
are influencing their spending patterns and media consumption. With the growing
popularity of Africa’s biggest MMA promoter and the production values and size of
events, EFC (Extreme Fighting Championship) is taking the African market to a
global level. To understand the South African MMA fan, marketers should
differentiate strategies to meet these various customers’ satisfaction needs and
demands. Media plays a big role in the growing of the sport, and Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube and television broadcasts all contribute to fans gaining access to the MMA
sport.
The following motivational factors were used to measure the MMA fan: Aesthetic
quality, Sports interest, Drama/Eustress, Socialising, Vicarious achievement, Fighter
interest, Adoration/Hero, Violence, Escape, National Pride and Economic Factors.
Participants who attended the local amateur MMA fights in the south of
Johannesburg were requested to complete the online web questionnaire to establish
the motivational factors of South African MMA fans. Aesthetic quality, Sports interest
and Drama/Eustress were ranked as the highest motivators. There were some
gender differences where females indicated that they were more interested in the
Drama factor and the males in the Sports interest factor.
It was clear from the results that most male fans were drawn to MMA by word-ofmouth,
clubs or events. The female fans used the internet and television as their
media consumption of MMA. Although the study was limited to a local MMA event,
insights into the motivation of the South African MMA fan were discovered as well as
how media is consumed differently by different genders. | en_US |
