Breaking Down The UFC Performance Institute
With Vegas and Shanghai fully operational, the UFC looks to establish a presence in Latin America.
Later this year, the UFC will open its third Performance Institute training center, which will be located in Mexico City, according to promotion officials. The structure is planned to debut in the final quarter of 2023.
More than 32,000 square feet in size, the multimillion-dollar facility in Mexico will emulate the original complex in Las Vegas. MMA, strength and conditioning, sports science, physical therapy, and performance nutrition experts will all be present.
According to UFC president Dana White. "Our teams at the PI are the best in the world at what they do, and we are confident that by providing Mexico with the tools and training it needs to develop some of the best MMA talents in the world. This is a huge chance for athletes all over Latin America and the MMA sport," he said, “the greatest athletes in the history of combat sports have originated from Mexico”.
So, what is the UFC PI? How significant of a role do they play for the company? What is the financial trade-off for the promotion? We aim to answer that and more.
In 2017, the UFC accounted for the completion of a massive project: A $14 million, 30,000 sq ft athletic facility dedicated entirely to UFC athletes. The UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI) became the world's first Mixed Martial Arts multi-disciplinary center for research, innovation, and development. With some of the world's most specialized staff of any performance center, the PI quickly became a second home to over 30% of the UFC’s roster.
According to this article from Forbes, among the various technologies, you’ll find nap pods ($8,000 a piece), a NovoTHOR whole-body laser light therapy pod ($89,000), and a $100,000 DEXA that's essentially a next-level x-ray machine that picks up lean and fat tissue in addition to bone.
All this to say, the development and introduction of the center proved the promotion does indeed invest in its athletes. Did the UFC commit $14 million to raise fighter salaries? Or shell out $14 million in performance bonuses? No. But, it could be argued that the promotion’s investment into the health of its talent is priceless (“health is wealth”).
Investing in athlete performance and health carries a significant weight considering the promotion is nothing without its talent. Vegas was just the first step in a long journey for the UFC to build and grow performance institutes all over the world. Strategically placing PIs around the globe does two things. First, it increases the UFCs brand awareness, and second, it fosters potential talent from every corner of the earth. A higher caliber of fighters joining the UFC means more engagement from fans and therefore more value for the promotion (thank you for appreciating my dumbed-down version).
In early 2019, the UFC cemented itself in arguably the largest athlete market on the planet by opening its second performance institute in Shanghai. The facility is more than 93,000 square feet, cost $13 million, and has an annual operating budget in the millions. It is the largest MMA training facility in the world.
Shanghai’s PI differed from its counterpart in vegas not just in size, but in purpose. As MMA Fighting put it, “The UFC will bring in fighters on “scholarships” from around the region with an eye toward getting them ready for competition on big shows.”
The Shanghai PI is the UFC’s home base in Asia, housing executives, and staff. It also allows the UFC to produce original programming and even host events.
Here’s a quote from the current SVP, Head of Talent and Operations Strategy James Kimball,
“I think it’s pretty evident why the UFC sees international expansion and growth in Asia and China, specifically. And for us, for the UFC and the UFC PI, the vehicle in which we’re willing to achieve that is through developing talent,” said James Kimball, the UFC Performance Institute’s vice president of operations. “So, in terms of the model and what’s different … in Vegas, obviously we’re working with athletes that are currently on the UFC roster. That facility will be available to athletes currently on the UFC roster, but predominantly we will be developing talent. So we’ll be recruiting talent from mainland China and the surrounding regions in [Asia-Pacific] to get them UFC caliber and UFC approved.”
With Asia and North America essentially covered, the UFC now looks to control a third huge talent pool: Latin America. According to the UFCs press release, “UFC Performance Institute Mexico will serve as a catalyst for athlete development in Latin America, aiming to rapidly accelerate the skill level and UFC-readiness of mixed martial artists in the region.”
More than 15% of the UFC active roster, or more than 150 athletes, are from Latin America. 28 of those athletes, including the current UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, the first UFC champion to be born in Mexico, and newly minted interim featherweight champion Yair Rodríguez, are from Mexico. Sixty-six athletes in total are from Spanish-speaking countries.
By building state-of-the-art facilities, the UFC can control its athlete development. It also can continue to solidify itself as the world’s premier MMA promotion and invest in the acquisition of future high-caliber talent. It’s unclear where the next Performance Institute will be built, but the UFC certainly has plans for more. Either Africa or Australia would make the most sense, but while Mexico City is being completed, it’s almost guaranteed the UFC will be plotting its next state-of-the-art facility.