UFC™Gym® is looking to move outside the four walls of its gyms, but continue to provide members with the same intense training members have come to expect from the club. UFCFIT.com, the new digital experience, will help fitness enthusiasts train like a UFC fighter in their own home.
We spoke with Nakisa Bidarian, the senior vice president of Investment and Strategy for Zuffa LLC. Bidarian oversees UFC’s investment in UFC GYM and UFC FIT. This is what he had to say:
CS: Why did you decide to launch UFCFIT.com?
NB: When we set out to open UFC Gyms and change an industry that was stale for 20 years, we knew we would be able to differentiate ourselves and offer a better experience. As we looked at the in-home fitness market we took the same approach. UFC fighters are the most conditioned athletes in the world! They test themselves physically and mentally. They continuously redefine fitness, nutrition and performance. We are constantly asked what fighters eat, how they train and what they do to stay in shape. Most fitness programs already out there are not focused on creating a sustainable training and nutrition lifestyle. We also knew that you didn’t have to be an athlete to train like one. We were adamant about the fact that we were not going to release a program unless it was going to change people’s lives. Having worked with not only athletes but regular, everyday people, we designed UFC FIT (full-body intensity training) for all different body types and ages.
CS: How does UFCFIT.com help increase the UFC Gym brand?
NB: Our brand is a way of life. It’s also geared towards everyone, not just fighters. You could say we are “longevity advocates.” The principles you learn in the UFC FIT program are more than a 12-week transformation. UFC FIT helps you create a sustainable lifestyle that you can maintain by taking advantage of the programming, training and cutting-edge equipment we provide to you at UFC Gym. We want to build the next generation of healthy people. You can even take a UFC FIT-adapted class at one of our gyms to practice training techniques of UFC athletes. We’ve developed an environment where your UFC FIT transformation is complimented by our gyms and vice-versa. You will see immediate results.
CS: What is different about UFCFIT.com than other similar systems like P90X?
NB: UFC FIT unveils some of the best-kept secrets of UFC athletes. It’s what your favorite fighters perform at home and in the gym to ensure their own peak physical conditions and prepare for battle inside the Octagon. These are tried-and-true principles used with great success at a world-class level by world-class athletes.
Another thing that makes UFC FIT different from every other workout out there is Mike Dolce. Dolce, a former bodybuilding enthusiast also fought 15 times as a professional MMA fighter and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 7. He’s someone we know for a fact gets results. Dolce is known throughout the sport as the guy who takes UFC fighters to another level. A fighter has never missed weight under Dolce’s care. As a nutrition expert, he has directed numerous fighters including Chael Sonnen, Johny Hendricks, Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves and Gray Maynard, among others. We knew that if the UFC was going to produce a fitness and nutrition product, we wanted to do it working with the man considered as a recognized leader in fitness and nutrition.
As told to Tyler Montgomery
