MMA Fighters And Fans Love Their Guns, According To Derek Pitera

According to a July 2022 story from Forbes reporter Joe Walsh, a record 2.8 million AR-15 and AK-style rifles entered the U.S. in 2020. Who’s buying them?

“MMA fighters and fans sure do,” said Derek Pitera, owner of S.C. Arms, a Type 01, Type 03, and 07 ATF registered firearms dealer. Pitera has trained in martial arts on and off for ten years and started his firearms business eight years ago.

Clients of his include UFC legends Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez and sponsored athletes include up-and-comers like 25-year-old 2019 ADCC World Championship runner-up Nicky Rodriquez, 9-1 UFC Middleweight Joe “Bodybagz” Pyfer, and the 15-0 UFC Welterweight fighter Sean Brady.

Pitera’s revenues for his first year in business were $7000. Now his company generates north of $6-$10M annually, largely thanks to the sport of mixed martial arts.

Former UFC and Bellator fighter Dante Rivera has worked with Pitera for years, as Pitera sponsors their gym and several athletes who compete for Rivera’s MMA team.

Rivera’s fighters often compete in CFFC, or Cage Fury Fighting Championship, a regional Mixed Martial arts promotion whose fighters often graduate to the UFC and other global promotions, which Pitera has also sponsored.

As Pitera’s revenues have grown, his support for the sport has too. Aside from word of mouth, his sponsorships and investments in MMA athletes, their gyms, and promotions have been his only marketing expense.

And speaking of CFFC, if you watch their events on UFC Fight Pass, you’ll see a custom Troy A4 AR-15 that Pitera designed for the promotion, using “Cerakote,” a thin-film protective ceramic coating akin to paint.

Although the UFC banned firearm and ammunition sponsors in 2012, then removed all athlete-owned sponsors with their Reebok uniform deal in 2014, these fighters’ love for firearms has remained unchanged.

Alexander Gustafsson is an avid hunter, as is the recent UFC retiree Donald Cerrone, who regularly shoots at his BMF ranch in New Mexico.

Jon Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, said via Instagram on July 17th, “time on the range is always time well spent.” In 2014, Jones told Jeremy Botter, former Senior Writer at Bleacher Report, that guns are his “only hobby,” not for self-defense, but as an outlet for his competitive drive.

At the time, Jones owned 12 assault rifles.

Then there’s Valentina “The Bullet” Shevchenko, the current UFC women’s Flyweight Champion. Shevchenko has a Glock-17 tattooed on her torso.

Shevchenko has been an avid shooter since 2008, even competing in an 8-hour shooting tournament this July. “I need my body to work like a Glock,” Shevchenko told Women’s Health in November 2021.

Former UFC fighter Daron Cruickshank, who competed for the organization from 2012-2016, gushed to The Atlantic in 2019 that he “spent all [his] UFC money on guns!” The 34-year-old competes for Xtreme Fighting Championships and is a competitive shooter too.

Some of these fighters listed here represent a small but influential class of professional fighters that are gun enthusiasts, whether for practical purposes, competitive use, or home defense. Pitera feels the two worlds are inextricably linked, and plans to continue reinvesting into the sport.