UFC packs social media punch

Even with the best seat in the building, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White spends more time staring at his phone than the fights in front of him.

At these main events, he's more interested in a ringside view into the world of social media.

With the fights in full swing, White closely monitors the Internet traffic on his BlackBerry, keeping tabs on what fans are discussing through Twitter or Facebook and handling potential problems before they fester.

If the cable goes out in Iowa during a pay-per-view event, White will become aware of it through Facebook and call a contact to investigate. Should a problem arise with tickets, he will know through Twitter and instantly address it.

White and the UFC have embraced all aspects of social media to broaden the appeal of mixed martial arts. The connection is a natural fit because the organization relied heavily on the Web to promote itself nearly a decade ago, when hardly any of the mainstream media gave the events much coverage.

And monitoring reaction in real time is a boon for White's business because it helps him instantly deal with any gripes.

Before each big event, White assembles what he calls "The Lab" in a back room. It's a bank of computers set up to track everything that's being uttered about the UFC on social media.

"I'm not the guy to go out and tell these other leagues what to do; the NFL and NBA have been very successful without my advice," said White, who's in Vancouver, British Columbia, this weekend for UFC 131. "But the reality is this: The younger generation, they're on Twitter, they're on Facebook, they're on the Internet. The world is changing."

The UFC boasts more than 5.6 million Facebook friends, second only to the NBA (9.4 million) among America's big sports. The organization also has more Facebook popularity than the league home pages for the NFL, MLB and NHL combined (5.5 million).

On Twitter, the UFC's following has swelled to more than a quarter million. And White, who's never been bashful about bantering with fans, has nearly 1.5 million followers.

"It's not all rosy," said White, who once offered to fly in a fan who wanted slap him. "But I don't block anybody, either."

White encourages his fighters' involvement as well, even bringing in social media professional Amy Martin to give 300 of his athletes a five-day seminar. Martin, founder of Digital Royalty, a company that develops social media strategies for celebrities, teams and athletes, showed the fighters how to more effectively use resources such as Twitter.

Now White is sweetening the deal for his athletes to remain Twitter savvy, offering $240,000 annually in bonuses for meeting benchmarks such as highest growth percentage, most amount of followers and most creative campaign.

"The UFC is absolutely ahead of the curve," said Martin, who recently helped Shaquille O'Neal announce his retirement through social media. "It's a part of their business DNA."

White wouldn't mind if his fighters tweeted in between rounds, should they figure out a way to type with gloves on.

That's a different stance than the NBA, which banned players from using Twitter during games. It's a rule enacted after Charlie Villanueva, then with the Milwaukee Bucks, created a stir when he sent a message at halftime.

New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush also generated controversy on Twitter, riling up fans when he posted: "Everybody complaining about the lockout! Shoot I'm making the most of it! Vacation, rest, relaxing, appearances here and there! I'm good!"

Bush later insisted he was kidding.

To White, that tweet should hardly have been an issue. It's precisely the kind of chitchat he wants from his fighters.

"He's just interacting with the fans, and he gets in trouble," White said.

In White's opinion, no tweet is taboo. He doesn't muzzle his fighters.

"Social media is a home run for us," White said. "The Internet has always been our culture. When we first bought this thing, this thing was so dead, nobody would cover it. If our fans wanted to know what was going on, they all went to the Internet. So as technology grew, we loved it and went after it."