Hitman Fight Gear – Las Vegas 2009

Hitman Fight Gear, along with Punishment was among the companies at an event at the Hooters Las Vegas showcasing apparel inspired by mixed martial arts.

Billed as a showcase for the “edgier lifestyle,” the first Pre-Party exclusively for apparel inspired by the mixed martial arts phenomenon debuted this Memorial weekend as part of the Action Sports Retailer at Hooters Casino Las Vegas. Autograph signing with UFC fighter Martin Kampman and the Hitman Fight Girls.

“MMA is the fastest growing sport right now, and as branded as kids and society are today, everyone sees an opportunity,” said Trent Wittman, 40, co-owner of Phoenix-based Grudge Fightware, whose own T-shirt, beanie and hoodie line featured plenty of stylized skulls. “Skulls. The kids love them.”

Once decried by critics as “human cockfighting” and banned in several states, the sport – a freestyle combination of judo, boxing, karate, kickboxing, jiujitsu and wrestling – has grown in popularity and respectability since it emerged in the early 1990s.

While still niche, MMA now attracts a large pay-per-view following and, after toning down the brutality of its early image with less violence, more refereeing and timed bouts, is definitely going mainstream.

The sport’s dominant organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has its own reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters. The series, “The Ultimate Fighter,” is the highest-rated original series on Spike TV, averaging 2 million viewers over seven seasons.

This year, CBS started showing full MMA matches in prime time, and two movies set in the MMA world hit theaters in recent months, including one by acclaimed writer David Mamet.

Still, nothing says mainstream pop culture like your own brand. And with apparel lines like Hitman, Sinister, Extreme Pain, Punishment and Hostile, MMA aficionados hope to get a chokehold on the broader youth market for action sports.

“There are a lot of retailers that are already carrying edgier lifestyle brands alongside surf-and skate-inspired sportswear,” said Tito Ortiz, an MMA athlete and founder of Punishment Athletics. “(This event) gives us the opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to retailers that may have preconceived ideas about MMA, while making an introduction to others who are curious about this industry.”

“There are a lot of browsers, but no orders,” said Nick Kosovich, owner of Los Angeles-based Valhalla Brand, a line of tattoo-inspired T-shirts with original designs by tattoo artists such as Mark Mahoney, who has put his stamp on the likes of Angelina Jolie and Bruce Willis. “But I didn’t expect much the first time out, and there’s no baseline to compare.”

For more info please visit: www.hitmanfightgear.com