Round 5 Gains Momentum as Series 4 Announced
Published by Paul Kocoras on May 5th, 2009 in Memorabilia

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Even as mixed martial arts experienced a boom in growth starting in the summer of 2005, the sport has given fans surprisingly few collectibles to grasp on to. Early collectors of MMA memorabilia focused on posters, passes, gloves, and shorts, but there were very few consumer products outside of apparel for MMA fans to collect as the sport grew in popularity. This was fairly unique for the level popularity MMA had reached by 2007; other sports in North America licensed names and images to toys, games, collectible cards, replica equipment, and nearly any consumer product that a logo or athlete’s image could fit on.

Enter Round 5, an entrepreneurial Canadian company who recognized the lack of true collectibles for MMA diehards. Eager to get first-mover status in the figurine market, Round 5 launched with the aggressive strategy of producing MMA collectible figurines without a partnership from a major promoter. Instead, Round 5 targeted MMA fighters who maintained full control of their likeness rights, and brought forward a very interesting proposition.

For starters, Round 5 offered very generous royalty fees to the fighters themselves, claiming “three to four times” the normal royalty rates of comparable programs. Most interestingly, Round 5 had an ace up their sleeve: they allowed the fighters to sell sponsorship space on the dolls’ shorts directly to companies willing to lease that space. In addition to a royalty percentage per figurine the fighter would receive, they would receive a second revenue stream from a set of sponsors who identified a unique way to get permanent advertising with their target consumer base.

Fighters saw this opportunity and signed up. The first series of Round 5 figures included highly popular North American fighters Quinton Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, and Randy Couture. Though it was considered a minor coup in itself landing such deals without the blessing of UFC parent company Zuffa, Round 5 still had the challenge of marketing the product to consumers who previously had no access to collectible figurines.

And there was one very glaring problem: action figures are products most typically purchased for male children age 4-12, a demographic that is often disallowed to view the sometimes violent sport of mixed martial arts. While MMA was indeed a growing sport, its largest demographic was 18-34 year old males, an unlikely purchaser of action figures.

Round 5 was a step ahead here too. Instead of positioning their product as action figures, they instead opted to market them as collectible figurines. The notable product difference is that the figurines have a stylized, artistic look, with cartoonish proportions, and less points of articulation than a typical action figure. The toys were designed by noted MacFarlane artist David Cortes, who lent an instant credibility to the quality of the figures. Round 5 also gave the fighters full power in the art direction of the product, choosing the poses and signing off on the final prototype. Positioning as collectible figurines rather than action figures afforded one other advantage as well: the ability to use a higher price point. At a retail price of $16.99, Round 5 figures make expensive toys, but fairly inexpensive collectibles. Relative to the most notable comparison, out-of-production PrideFC figurines selling for multiples more, Round 5 presented a new value for collectors.

The marketing choice paid off, and Round 5 began to build momentum among the MMA fanbase. With few products besides pay-per-view events and apparel denting their spending, long-time fans of MMA were pleased to have a stylized likeness of their favorite fighter to put in their cubicle, or a shelf at home, or to save for posterity. Round 5 introduced Series 2, which saw even more popularity, with fighters including Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin. Series 2 also included two “exclusive” variants: Anderson Silva with a black sponsor shirt, and Wanderlei Silva with black shorts.

After the success of series 2, Round 5 followed up with plans for its third 4-figure series, due out in May 2009. With names such as Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski, it has been met with widespread interest from the MMA collector community. Despite the delay in its release, Round 5 has also recently announced an expanded fourth series, which will include 6 fighters. Beyond the step up in product breadth, the biggest eyebrow-raiser for series four will be the addition of two of the most sought after properties in MMA today – Fedor Emelianenko and Gina Carano.

In the meantime, Zuffa has announced a deal with toymaker Jakks Pacific for UFC-licensed action figures. The deal will certainly present a competitive product with both a distribution advantage and direct access to the world’s largest MMA promoter. However, this deal has not slowed down Round 5 from signing UFC-affiliated fighters, such as Jason MacDonald, Martin Kampmann, and Chris Lytle, who will have figurines made for a future Round 5 release. While UFC maintains likeness rights for many of its current and legacy roster, Round 5 still believes they will have plenty of fighters for future releases from both inside and outside of the ranks of the UFC. The future looks bright for both Round 5 and its customers, who eagerly await the release of future collectibles.

Round 5 MMA Figurines

Series 1: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes

Series 2: Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk

Series 2 Exclusives: Wanderlei Silva Black Shorts, Anderson Silva Black Shirt

Series 3 (May 2009): Andrei Arlovski, “Big” John McCarthy, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir

Series 4 (July 2009): Fedor Emelianenko, Gina Carano, Mauricio Rua, Dan Henderson, Cung Le, Matt Serra