Go Daddy Comes Out Swinging with Mixed Martial Arts Sponsorship Title

Go Daddy is Presenting Sponsor for Upcoming “Fight of the Century”

July 7, 2009; 09:49 AM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GoDaddy.com is embarking on a whole new sponsorship endeavor and this one involves Go Daddy Ring Girls. The world-leading domain name registrar and Web hosting company has signed on as a marquee sponsor for one of the world’s fastest growing sports, mixed martial arts, also known as MMA.

“GoDaddy.com presents Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy” is a showcase of some of the sport’s premier fighters to take place August 1st in Anaheim, California. Go Daddy’s foray into MMA features a heavyweight title bout between Fedor Emelianenko, who is believed to be the best heavyweight fighter in the world, and Josh Barnett.

Go Daddy’s MMA deal takes the company into uncharted territory, as far as sponsorships. The Internet giant, known for putting millions of people online with domain names and Web sites, has sponsored athletes or events in other sports such as IndyCar, NASCAR, PokerStars and LPGA, but never MMA.

MMA is soaring in popularity, perhaps for its ‘no holds barred’ approach. The bouts are staged in a ring surrounded by netting. Fighters compete barefoot and use boxing, wrestling and jujitsu-style tactics in one-on-one matches. Like boxing, fighters qualify to compete in five weight categories ranging from Heavyweight to Lightweight.

“I’ll tell you why we are sponsoring MMA,” said Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. “The sport is exploding in terms of its growth, its fans are fiercely loyal, the competition is exciting and the audience is Internet savvy. This sport has a ‘loud attitude,’ it’s right up our alley.”

The sponsorship includes Go Daddy Ring Girls, logo placement in the center of the ring, presentation of the “Tale of the Tape” and the GoDaddy.com Fight Plan. Go Daddy branding will also be on poles within the ring and announcers will mention Go Daddy throughout the broadcast.

“It’s a huge boost for us to work with forward-thinking visionaries like GoDaddy.com and its founder Bob Parsons,” said Vice President of Affliction Entertainment Tom Atencio. “Having GoDaddy.com sponsor Trilogy shows the world how, even in these tough economic times, big name companies will take the risk to sponsor edgy sports like MMA.”

“I see lots of similarities between Go Daddy and the MMA,” Parsons said. “These guys are relentless, they’re innovative and they’re edgy. To me, that sounds just like GoDaddy.com!”

“GoDaddy.com presents Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy” is produced in association with Golden Boy Promotions and Donald J. Trump and is scheduled to be broadcast on HDNet and Showtime Pay-Per-View August 1st.

To find out more information about Trilogy, visit www.AfflictionEntertainment.com.

To learn how to get your Web site online quickly and easily, visit www.GoDaddy.com.

About The Go Daddy Group, Inc.

Go Daddy is a leading provider of services that enable individuals and businesses to establish, maintain and evolve an online presence. Go Daddy provides a variety of domain name registration plans and Web site design and hosting packages, as well as a broad array of on-demand services. These include products such as SSL Certificates, Domains by Proxy private registration, ecommerce Web site hosting, blog templates and blog software, podcast packages and online photo hosting. The Go Daddy Group, Inc. has more than 35 million domain names under management. Go Daddy registers, renews or transfers a domain name every second. GoDaddy.com is the world's No. 1 domain name registrar according to Name Intelligence, Inc. GoDaddy.com is also rated the world’s largest hostname provider according to Netcraft Ltd. During 2008, The Go Daddy Group registered more than one-third of all new domain names created in the top six generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, including .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .mobi.

- The Go Daddy Group -

Copyright © 2009 GoDaddy.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Contacts:

The Go Daddy Group, Inc.
Melanie Schmitt/PR Specialist
480-505-8800 x4294
[email protected]

Source: www.businesswire.com