TapouT partners with Tekken 6 for apparel line

24 Jul '09

4 min read

TapouT is taking its brand into the videogame market through a new multi-year partnership with game developer Namco Bandai Games. The companies announced a new alliance at Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego.

As part of the agreement, TapouT will design five co-branded T-shirts, which will appear as in-game customization options for characters in "Tekken 6," the latest installment of Namco's popular fighting game franchise. In addition to outfitting their "Tekken 6" fighters, players and fans will be able to wear their own Tekken 6 TapouT gear.

Co-branded T-shirts will be available for purchase. Five TapouT-branded Tekken 6 shirt designs for men and women will be released in September through TapouT's network of specialty retailers and on www.tapout.com.

"As we look to enhance brand visibility in new ways, the idea to fuse TapouT and 'Tekken 6' was the perfect approach to introduce new apparel to our core fan base," TapouT President Marc Kreiner said.

The deal is the first co-branding agreement Namco Bandai has struck with a major apparel company for in-game and offline gear. Tekken 6 will be released this fall for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the PSP system.

Shark Fight MMA breaks attendance record: Shark Fight MMA, a fast-rising Texas-based organization that mixes its cards with proven veterans and prospects, drew 10,603 fans to its most recent event, "Shark Fight 5.5: Nothing to Lose."

The July 18 event took place at the Gamboa's Outdoor Event Center in Amarillo and set a Texas attendance record for an outdoor MMA event.

While most MMA events are held indoors, the attendance figure is impressive, nonetheless. Few organizations outside of the UFC, which ventures to Dallas on Sept. 19, have ever reached the five-figure attendance mark.

Shark Fight 5.5, which featured UFC veteran Doug Evans' submission victory over Douglas Frey for the Shark Fight featherweight belt, got an attendance boost when company president Jim Larson announced that tickets for the event would be free of charge.

"Without a doubt there are thousands of devoted fight fans in Texas and we are proud that we were able to put on a free MMA event for them," he stated.

The organization's previous show, Shark Fight 5, was rained out, which prompted the free ticket offer.

World MMA Awards expanded for 2009: Nominations are now being taken for the 2009 Fighters Only World MMA Awards.

The popular U.K.-based magazine, which has or is in the process of launching editions in countries around the world, launched the awards program in 2008 with the goal of becoming the "Grammy or Oscars of MMA," Fighters Only Magazine CEO Rob Hewitt told MMAjunkie.com at a recent Las Vegas press conference.

Nominees and winners for 2008 were determined exclusively by a fan vote, and tens of thousands of ballots were cast to determine winners such as Anderson Silva (Fighter of the Year), Demian Maia (Breakthrough Fighter of the Year), Dana White (Leading Man) and your very own MMAjunkie.com (Best Media Coverage).

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