THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — The burgeoning sport of mixed martial arts has muscled its way into toy stores, thanks to a company in Markham, Ont.
Round 5, co-owned by brothers Damon and Barron Lau along with UFC heavyweight champion Randy (The Natural) Couture, launched its first line of MMA action figures four weeks ago in 2,500 stores across North America. The figures are also headed to the United Kingdom and Japan.
In Canada, the 15-centimetre figures are available at Toys “R” Us and Sunrise Records, among other outlets.
The first four figures, which retail for a suggested price of $16.99 each, are Couture, UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton (Rampage) Jackson, former UFC welterweight title-holder Matt Hughes and former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito (The Huntington Beach Bad Boy) Ortiz.
Couture, 44, is looking forward to showing his five-year-old son one of the figures.
“He’s going to be very excited,” the Las Vegas-based fighter told a launch party Friday night. “I have a 23- and a 25-year-old as well that both think they’re pretty cool also.”
Couture says the sport has found its way into toy stores for a reason, because MMA is growing in popularity and acceptance.
“A lot of the misconceptions that people have had about the sport are gone, have been shattered, because of guys like these,” said Couture, pointing to the fighters sitting next to him — former UFC lightweight champion Sean (The Muscle Shark) Sherk and Canadians Chris (The Polish Hammer) Horodecki, Mark (The Machine) Hominick and Mark Bocek.
Horodecki, Hominick and Bocek are all due to serve as trainers at the newly opened Extreme Couture gym in Toronto.
Sherk is set to be part of the next line of action figures, due out in the fall. He will be joined by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former UFC middleweight champion Rich (Ace) Franklin and an as-yet-unidentified fighter.
Sherk’s model is currently in the moulding stage. “It looks good,” he said happily.
“In a million years, I never thought this sport would produce action figures and I never imagined myself as one of them,” added Sherk, who has fought for nine years.
So far all the fighters involved have come from the UFC, although there is no reference to the organization on the product. The UFC does not control the image rights to the figures, so Sherk and other fighters can benefit directly from the toys.
Damon Lau and Couture both were surprised that no one else had thought of the idea, although the now-defunct Japan-based Pride Fighting Championships did have its own fighter figures. Couture, through his manager, had approached the Japanese manufacturer about them some years ago only to find they weren’t interested in North American fighters.
The idea resurfaced when the Laus, who got to know Couture through their work with the Toronto-based Fight Network, approached him about the idea. Couture came on board, using his relationships in the sport to go directly to the fighters.
Currently involved in a contract dispute with the UFC, Couture likes the idea of eliminating the middle man.
The figures have already won a fan in Horodecki, one of the top fighters in the International Fight League.
“That’s huge,” said the 20-year-old lightweight from London, Ont., looking over the figures. “How cool is that, having your own action figure.”
The figures are sculpted by David Cortes, who has previously done Spawn, Hellboy and The Incredible Hulk figures among others, and manufactured in China. Cortes is an MMA fan himself, according to Damon Lau, and the fighters also had a hand in the design of their figures.
“For me it’s a little bit like a dream,” said Damon Lau, who with his brother runs an advertising/marketing agency called Pressure. “Typically I’m used to being on the other side. You hire me to launch and market your brand. I get to launch my own brand and market a brand on a hobby that I have with one of the heroes I’ve had ever since I was a kid.”
Lau, 27, says some people see the figures as toys, other as collectibles.
“I look at it as you’re capturing a moment in the sport and you start connecting with the guys who you think have done something in the sport. I’m a fan.”
For more information, go to www.round5mma.com
