Alliance MMA, the only Publicly Traded Mixed Martial Arts corporation on the stock market today, has suffered substantial losses in recent weeks.
After filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and announcing they were open for trade on the market in October 2016, Alliance MMA (NASDAQ: AMMA) started with an initial offering of $4.50 per share. Today, June 27, 2017, just eight months later, the stock is down 71.7% for the year so far, and sits at less than a quarter of its initial offering price.
On June 26, AMMA dropped down below the $1 per share valuation for the first time since inception.
Today, losses continued as the day's last trade was listed at just $0.93.
Why are there no other MMA brands on the market?
While Alliance MMA may currently be the only MMA brand on the stock market, it is not the first. In November 2006, the International Fight League became a publicly traded company, under the symbol IFLI. Their market valuation was around $150 million. Less than a year later, in September 2007, owner Richard Kurtz sold his interest in the IFL and the stock fizzled.
The biggest brand in the sport, the UFC has stated on multiple occasions that they do not have an interest in a public offering. Behind them in both size and popularity would be Bellator MMA, a Viacom-owned promotion.
They too have not offered any intention of going public.
What does Alliance MMA do?
Essentially what the corporation does is it acquires top regional mixed martial arts promotions with the intent of creating a top feeder league to the UFC. They do not compete with the UFC, they are complimentary to the organization which essentially means that if you are at the top level of MMA just on the verge of entering the UFC, chances are you might be signed to a promotion that is owned by Alliance.
According to the Alliance MMA website, their mission is stated as: "With some of the world’s leading MMA promotions under the Alliance MMA umbrella, the organization aims eventually to host in excess of 125 events per year, showcasing more than 1,000 fighters."
The largest promotion under the umbrella is Cage Fury Fighting Championships which puts on shows in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and made their first trip out west to San Diego in recent months. Alliance also has secondary companies such as Sucker Punch Entertainment, an athlete management and marketing company, as well as CageTix, a ticketing service for combat sports.
