Jakks Signs UFC Master Toy License

Not sure if anyone here really cares, but i dont see the harm in posting it, just incase anyone does care.

World Leader in Fighting Action Figure Toys JAKKS Pacific®
Secures Ultimate Master Toy License
For Ultimate Fighting Championship®

JAKKS Strengthens Action Figure Portfolio of
Major ‘Fight’ Brands with UFC® License

Malibu, CA – June 10, 2008 – The world leader in fighting action figure toys, JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAKK), announced today that it has signed an exclusive, four year worldwide Master Toy license agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization, with a planned product launch expected to commence in 2009.

The new UFC product line from JAKKSTM will be collector-focused, and the license covers UFC legend Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, Brock Lesnar, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira, Michael "The Count" Bisping and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva, among others. The license also includes the famed UFC Octagon™, and role-play items based on the UFC brand and its classic and current roster of star fighters.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship organization is the world's leading professional mixed martial arts group, regulated by the most prestigious sports regulatory bodies in the United States. UFC live pay-per-view events take place at preeminent destinations including MGM Grand®, MEN Arena, Mandalay Bay® and O2 Arena, and they consistently draw sell-out crowds with record-breaking gates. Presenting more than twelve pay-per-view events per year, the UFC stands as the largest pay-per-view content provider in the country.

The UFC also dominates television with its reality series, The Ultimate Fighter®, now heading into its eighth season. The Ultimate Fighter has reigned supreme for years in the coveted 18-34 male ratings demographic, and it regularly enjoys higher ratings than traditional franchise sports such as the NBA®, NHL® and NASCAR®, as well as NCAA® football and basketball. In partnership with Spike TV® cable network, the UFC also presents ten live UFC® Fight Night™ events and 26 taped programs of the popular program UFC® Unleashed™.

“The UFC is a perfect match for JAKKS, given our extensive expertise in developing and marketing collector driven sports action figures,” said Stephen Berman, President and COO, JAKKS Pacific. “UFC’s enormous and growing popularity amongst adults, coupled with the extensive roster of physically powerful star fighters, gives JAKKS a substantial base to work with, and should be a powerhouse combination for the line. Our objective is to give collectors an authentic UFC experience.”

“Nobody celebrates a collector brand better than JAKKS™,” said Jeremy Padawer, Vice President Marketing, JAKKS’ Boys Entertainment Brands. “We will develop a very broad, totally authentic, playable line of action figures, Octagon sets and accessory items encompassing current and classic UFC fighters. Our objective is to give the collector the UFC experience: All the various fighters, including champions and contenders, as well as referees, announcers and even the UFC President! JAKKS will deliver the definitive line of UFC action figures -- We are PSYCHED.”

“We are thrilled to have JAKKS on board as our first official UFC action figure partner,” said Dana White, UFC President. “The demand for UFC is tremendous, and through this relationship with JAKKS, we can present authentic UFC products and have them available to our loyal UFC fans all around the world.”

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV®, DISH Network®, TVN® Entertainment, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Bell ExpressVU®, Viewers Choice, SaskTel Max™ and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo!® Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

About JAKKS Pacific, Inc.

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a multi-brand company that designs and markets a broad range of toys and consumer products. The product categories include: Action Figures, Art Activity Kits, Stationery, Writing Instruments, Performance Kites, Water Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School, Plush, Construction Toys, Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up, Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories. The products are sold under various brand names including JAKKS Pacific®, Play Along®, Flying Colors®, Creative Designs International™, Road Champs®, Child Guidance®, Pentech®, Trendmasters®, Toymax®, Funnoodle®, Go Fly a Kite®, Color Workshop®, JAKKS Pets™ and Plug It In & Play TV Games™. JAKKS and THQ Inc. participate in a joint venture that has worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling Entertainment video games. For further information, visit www.jakks.com.

# # #

This press release may contain forward–looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about JAKKS Pacific's business based partly on assumptions made by its management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to, those described above, changes in demand for JAKKS' products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and difficulties with integrating acquired businesses. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation to update any of them to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. © JAKKS Pacific, Inc. All Right Reserved.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Brock Lesnar and Dana White of the UFC appeared earlier today on CNBC's Power Lunch to announce their new action figure deal with Jakks Pacific.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]During the interview they show off some of the UFC action figures.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Click here to watch the interview:
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=766552183[/FONT]

Brock Lesnar prototype:

Vince135792003

A huge announcement is apparently going to be announced this time next week by the UFC. It was supposed to be this Thursday but according to the observer, it's been pushed back.

Rumours have ranged from signing Mayweather, publically floating the company, a network deal with Fox and WWE obtaining a partial ownership of the UFC all of which have been shot down by Dana White today.

Vince135792003

Vince135792003 wrote: »

A huge announcement is apparently going to be announced this time next week by the UFC. It was supposed to be this Thursday but according to the observer, it's been pushed back.

Rumours have ranged from signing Mayweather, publically floating the company, a network deal with Fox and WWE obtaining a partial ownership of the UFC all of which have been shot down by Dana White today.

Yeah i seen that alright. Not a huge UFC fan, but it could be interesting. Kurt Angle? heh..

fatal

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah i seen that alright. Not a huge UFC fan, but it could be interesting. Kurt Angle? heh..

With Kurts current injury.I think its a certainty that he won't compete in MMA.He would not get cleared to fight by any athletic commission

fatal

fatal wrote: »

With Kurts current injury.I think its a certainty that he won't compete in MMA.He would not get cleared to fight by any athletic commission

I was joking. (why i put the "heh")

Is the tattoo on the front of that lesnar figure accurate? Is the top of the sword supposed to be like that?

Fozzy

Deleted User wrote: »

I was joking. (why i put the "heh")

Is the tattoo on the front of that lesnar figure accurate? Is the top of the sword supposed to be like that?

No, you can actually see the top of the sword really. It looks like the figure has a movable head so the part where the tip of the sword is slants inwards

Fozzy

Fozzy wrote: »

No, you can actually see the top of the sword really. It looks like the figure has a movable head so the part where the tip of the sword is slants inwards

Ah yeah, i didnt even notice that slant was there. I prefer Jakks' other style of figures, but they arent as articulated, so i reckon these would be better for play (as UFC moves require a lot of body movement).

callaway92

Deleted User wrote: »

Ah yeah, i didnt even notice that slant was there. I prefer Jakks' other style of figures, but they arent as articulated, so i reckon these would be better for play (as UFC moves require a lot of body movement).

KKV..Do you..PLAY...with your wrestling figures at your age!!??:eek::eek:

Fozzy

callaway92 wrote: »

KKV..Do you..PLAY...with your wrestling figures at your age!!??:eek::eek:

Better than keeping them in their box, unopened, on a shelf! I never understood why people do that

Fozzy

Fozzy wrote: »

Better than keeping them in their box, unopened, on a shelf! I never understood why people do that

I don't really play with them. I dont have the imagination required any more. But I miss the days when two figures and a ring could provide countless hours of fun. Nowadays i find it just a little boring and uncomfortable to sit on the ground the way i used to. If i still liked doing it, i sure as hell wouldnt stop because im 19. If you like it, you like it.


As for Fozzy's remark, i have been doing that a lot. Practically all my life i've been buying wrestling figures. And even though i dont play with them anymore, i still buy them out of habit and hang them on my wall. I guess they're a nice display piece if nothing else.

Some people hang pictures, paintings and shelves with ornaments on their wall. I hang Classic Superstars. Memories of the olden days of rasslin'


Im sure i cant be the only person who posts here with a wrestling figure collection? (or collection of any general WWE merchandise)?

dez_warlock

Yeah i have a huge collection of figures too. I've got about 400 or so all from different federations. I've got the entire set of ECW figures and loads of WCW aswell as WWF stuff. Only one's i'd get these days are of ECW originals or TNA ones.

I just like having the collection, however I don't have enough space to display them all yet so they're left in a box. I've been thinking of selling them on soon though.