UFC backs NRL to succeed in United States with Las Vegas foray

“So the answer is, listen, it’s tough, there’s a lot of competition out there, but I like your chances. And you’ve already got a tremendous amount of success.”

In its early days as a fledgling sport, the UFC strategically chose Vegas as the perfect market to raise its profile. Epstein said it was a prudent move for the NRL to do likewise.

“You’ve got a great sport, you’ve got a great product, that’s the key.′

UFC COO Lawrence Epstein

“As big as we’ve become at UFC, as fast as we’ve done it, we’ve not been able to do without a platform in Las Vegas for our business,” Epstein said.

“So I think No.1, Andy [NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo], you guys are doing the right thing by coming here, using this platform because it is truly second to none if you want to penetrate not just the US level, but the global level.

“It’s just that the events here are bigger, they’re more special, they get more notoriety.

“The good news is that in this world that we live in right now, you can be an upstart and you can quickly grow because of the dynamic nature of the way it works today.

“We got into social media early, in part because we couldn’t get a lot of coverage from traditional media. It was one of those necessities, we just had to.

“We had to jump in there and do it, and it became a core competency of our company. But it’s also shown us how quickly you can use those platforms for your plans.”

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At the NRL’s fan fest at Fremont Street on Thursday, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was presented to a crowd of about 10,000 league supporters.

“Excited, rugby is a good sport, tough sport,” Dvalishvili said on stage. “They’re really tough, tough guys. That’s right, beautiful sport to watch.”

The Herald’s travel expenses to Las Vegas have been partly funded by the NRL.

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