When interviewed by Forbes Magazine, Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank talked about watching the NFL Combine and how his attention strayed from the budding stars running through drills on the field. Instead, he said he watched as scouts used handheld stopwatches and clipboards: like many entrepreneurs, he said he was convinced there was a better way.

And the global athletic giant made moves towards this “better way” of tracking fitness last week by acquiring Denver-based MapMyFitness for $150 million in what seems to be a perfectly synergistic opportunity. 

"There's such a great complementary nature between the two companies," MapMyFitness General Manager Chris Glode said.

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"Under Armour is in the apparel and footwear space, but consider themselves a tech company. They have really tried to be innovative. We're really focused on what we can do together to change the conversations and do things that are going to be game-changing."

MapMyFitness, which runs popular applications like MapMyRun and MapMyRide, has already grown into a global power in its own right with 20 million registered users, including 9 million monthly users. Their platforms are fully compatible with over 400 fitness tracking devices, sensors and wearables.

Glode talked about the need to reduce friction when it came to fitness data and tracking, a major opportunity now that they’ve teamed up with Under Armour to capitalize on. (And no, he wasn't talking about avoiding chafing, but rather the seamlessness that can exist in the days of smartphones.)

"You should be able to put on a certain shirt, go out for a run, come home, throw that shirt in the laundry and immediately get feedback about your workouts," he said.

Sounds like the perfect marriage between a leading apparel corporation and a top-tier technology company.

The acquisition speaks the desire of both companies to position themselves against the likes of stiff competition: Nike. The popular Nike+ suite of products has about 18 million users globally. But, beneath the Under Armour umbrella, MapMyFitness can utilize resources it never has before like Under Armour's famous innovation lab, which employs world-renowned scientists, celebrity athlete endorsements (including Colorado's own Lindsey Vonn), not to mention the $8 billion market share that Under Armour owns.

Moving forward with Under Armour, Glode said MapMyFitness plans to remain in Denver, where it began in 2007 - although 60 percent of MapMyFitness's 100-person staff now works out of their Austin headquarters.

"We began here,” Glode said. “The founders are from Denver. Our first 30 employees started in Denver. Our roots are really as a Colorado company. We’re going to maintain our presence here and we’re going to continue to tap into the Boulder/Denver corridor."

Brings a new meaning to one of Under Armour's famous slogans: we must protect this house.