Last week, something wild happened.

Nike signed the #1 female pickleball player, Anna Leigh Waters. Days later, Rolex signed the #1 male padel player, Arturo Coello.

Padel and Pickleball.

Meanwhile, millions of people practice martial arts worldwide—karate, boxing, MMA, judo, taekwondo, BJJ. Kids, adults, men, women. Way more participants than pickleball.

Yet the big brands? They're not interested.

I've been thinking about why that is, and honestly, it pisses me off a little. But more importantly, I think I've figured it out.

The Problem: We're the Poor People's Sport

Here's the uncomfortable truth: combat sports have always been the sport for people with no money.

You need a singlet for wrestling. A pair of gloves for boxing. A gi for judo. That's it. Compare that to hockey, tennis, golf, surfing—sports where you're dropping hundreds or thousands on equipment.

Big brands don't just want participants. They want customers who buy expensive shit repeatedly.

Our equipment is cheap and lasts forever. That's great for broke teenagers getting into the sport. Terrible for Nike's business model.

The Saturation Problem

There are too many combat sports, and nobody outside the fight world can tell them apart.

Karate, kickboxing, boxing, MMA, taekwondo, kung fu, wrestling, judo, BJJ, Muay Thai...

Even I get confused sometimes, and I've been in this world my whole life.

For a CMO at a Fortune 500 company trying to figure out where to allocate their sponsorship budget? Forget it. They'd rather sponsor pickleball—one governing body, clear rules, easy to understand.

Plus, that CMO probably plays pickleball on weekends and argues his friends about whether the ball was in or out. They get it. They live it. Combat sports? They've never stepped on a mat.

People Train It, But Nobody Watches It

Hundreds of thousands of kids do karate. Almost nobody watches karate competitions on TV.

Same with judo. Same with wrestling (outside the Olympics). Same with most combat sports.

It's like running. Tons of people jog. Almost nobody watches marathons on TV unless they know someone running.

But here's the difference: running became part of everyday lifestyle. Nike started by making running shoes, then flipped it into a lifestyle brand for everyone.

Combat sports never made that jump.

The UFC and Big Boxing Changed One Thing (But Not Everything)

The UFC proved people WILL watch MMA if you package it right. Big boxing events have always drawn massive audiences. Kickboxing and Muay Thai in places like Japan and Thailand fills stadiums.

But look at the sponsors at these events: Monster Energy, Bud Light, Modelo, crypto companies, beer brands.

Notice what's missing? Gear companies. Equipment brands. The actual products fighters use.

You know why? Because the fans aren't the ones training. The fans are drinking beer and energy drinks while watching fights.

These promotions sell to spectators, not participants. That's why Venum is the outlier—they're one of the few gear companies that made it big by getting into the UFC.

The Golf vs. Combat Sports Difference

Golf sponsors athletes heavily. Rolex, Nike, TaylorMade—they're all over individual golfers.

Same with tennis. Same with Formula 1.

But name three major global brands that sponsor Conor McGregor, Canelo Alvarez, or any top kickboxer individually. Go ahead, I'll wait.

You can't.

Even the biggest fighters in the world don't have the same brand partnerships as mid-tier tennis players or golfers.

Why? Because brands would rather sponsor the UFC, a major boxing event as a whole and get hundreds of fighters in one deal, with none of the liability of backing individual fighters who might say or do something stupid.

Also—and this is real—most fighters don't have professional management teams at the level of other pro athletes. The infrastructure isn't there.

Rich People Don't Do Combat Sports

Here's another brutal truth: rich people watch golf, tennis, and Formula 1. Rich people GO to those events.

When rich people show up, brands follow. Simple as that.

Combat sports? Working-class sport. Always has been. Whether it's boxing gyms in tough neighborhoods or MMA gyms in strip malls, it's been the sport for people grinding their way up. The fans aren't dropping $30K on a Rolex because they saw it at a fight event.

Big brands look at ROI. Combat sports just doesn't pencil out the same way.

My Own Experience

When I was competing in karate, I was sponsored by Adidas.

Sounds cool, right?

Except it wasn't actually Adidas Germany. It was a small company in France that was able to use the Adidas name for judo and karate uniforms. They could use the logo, but they weren't part of the real Adidas ecosystem—no big marketing budget, no global push, nothing.

The Inconsistency Problem

Fighters fight 3 times a year if they're lucky. If they get injured? Maybe once.

Compare that to tennis players competing 20+ tournaments a year, or golfers on tour every week.

Brands want consistency. They want their logo seen over and over. Combat sports can't deliver that the same way.

Also, there are no seasons. No rhythm. No predictable calendar that brands can plan around.

The "Violence" Perception

Some brands straight-up won't associate with fighting because they think it looks aggressive or violent.

We know that's bullshit. Most people in combat sports are the least aggressive people you'll meet. But perception matters, and decision-makers at big companies don't want to risk their brand looking "too aggressive."

So What's the Solution?

Honestly? It's not easy.

Social media is helping. Fighters with big followings are getting deals that wouldn't have existed 10 years ago.

But we need a few things to change:

1. Big brands need to take risks on individual fighters—not just sponsor the UFC, PFL, a big boxing card, or a kickboxing event, but actually back athletes across all combat sports and help them build their brands.

2. Combat sports gear companies need to go mainstream—the way Tapout or Everlast did for a minute, or the way running shoe companies exploded. We need our version of "lifestyle brand meets performance gear."

3. Smaller promotions and fighters need to professionalize—better management, better marketing, consistent schedules. Make it easier for brands to say yes.

4. Maybe work backwards—if a combat sports brand like Venum can break into the NFL or other mainstream sports, that legitimizes the whole category.

The gap exists because both sides don't understand each other. Big brands don't know when or where to enter combat sports. Promotions don't know what they need to attract serious money.

That's exactly why we built SKOVAX Entertainment—to bridge that gap. We help brands navigate the combat sports landscape so they don't waste money on the wrong moves. And we help promotions understand what it actually takes to attract big sponsorships and scale.

We're far away from where tennis, golf, or even pickleball are when it comes to brand partnerships.

And that's frustrating as hell when you know how many people are out there training every day.

What is your take?

Best,

Adam

PS: This disconnect between combat sports and big brands is exactly what we work on at Skovax Entertainment. If you're a brand trying to figure out where to enter this space without getting burned, or a promotion trying to understand what it takes to attract serious sponsorship money—reach out or apply HERE​

PPS: Want to catch up on past newsletters? Browse the full archive HERE​

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