by FORTUNA PR
UCMMA 22 is set to be a historical evening in every sense of the word as the ground breaking team behind Cage Rage will deliver the first ever MMA pay per view in UK.
Tabloid star Alex “The Reidernator” Reid takes on Jason “Bad Ass” Barrett in a Super Title Fight that has ignited public interest and public opinion.
The card will be broadcast live on Primetime (Sky Channel 480) and also via their website on Saturday 6th August and UCMMA figurehead Dave O’Donnell recently took the time to chat about this event and the his vision for the development of the sport in the UK.
Dave, your upcoming event is the first time that a UK promotion has made the jump on to pay per view. Will this be a regular move for UCMMA?
Unfortunately, I doubt if it will be a regular occurrence. MMA in this country doesn’t seem to be as mainstream as in the USA. English people don’t seem to have PPV in their budgets, being that TV costs are quite high already. The difference with this PPV is that Alex Reid is a household name and we are trying to broaden people’s views on MMA and involve women, kids, and families.
Alex Reid could potentially bring a family friendly image to MMA, which is what it severely lacks. Make no mistake; this is a massive risk for me. However, I only got where I am today by taking risks.
A lot of media outlets have been critical of the Alex Reid vs. Jason Barrett main event but, on paper, it has potential to be an exciting clash of styles between two strikers. How do you see the fight going?
If any man on the planet was to fight Alex Reid, now is the best time. As Jason said in the press conference, ‘If this was four years ago, I wouldn’t even climb into the same cage as him’.
However, now while Alex is out partying every night, Jason is in the gym training. MMA is always full of surprises, but one thing that is not going to be a surprise is that when these two guys get into the cage, there are going to be fireworks.
You’ve been responsible to introducing the British public to some of the biggest stars in the modern mma scene. Do you still feel the same responsibility to give tomorrow’s stars of world mma that opportunity?
Maybe I’ve got a gift at spotting talent. You’ve only got to look at some of the stars such as Brad Picket, Jason Young, Jimi Manuwa, who are all home-grown; the list is endless. There is one thing that guys like Dana White would always look for, which is exciting fighters. We seem to have a knack over here of producing just that. I will always do my upmost to push these guys to the very top.
A lot of other organizations have been taking their events around the world recently. Are there any plans to deliver a UCMMA event outside of England?
When you speak of a lot of other organizations taking their events around the world, really the only one that comes to mind as a success is UFC. They have built a brand over many years, struggled through the hard times, and are now are raking in the rewards. There are so many idiot organizations that think they can just jump straight to the arena shows and take their shows around the world.
No disrespect to Affliction or Bodog, but surely you can view these two organizations, and realize, just solely throwing millions at into a company does not necessarily make it a success. My feet are standing firmly on the ground at the moment, building the right foundations and getting the right content.
We nearly secured a deal to go abroad, but as always, it has to be the right deal. So, for the foreseeable future, we are happy to slowly build our empire and remember the story about the tortoise and the hare.
John “The One” Maguire is one of the most talented welterweights in the UK. Do you think a lot of people overlook him in this country?
I possibly thought a couple of months ago they did, but not anymore. John is a formidable force to be reckoned with. He seems to have this natural, inner strength.
Physically, when you look at him, he is not ripped with muscles, but when that cage door closes, he turns into some sort of werewolf. He always seems to have a countermove for everything a fighter throws at him.
One of his biggest tests to date, however, will be facing Peter Irving on September 17th, but John, as always, is cool and collected.
What makes UCMMA different to every other promotion around at the moment? What unique elements are there about your event?
After doing more than sixty events, nine live shows and twelve arena shows I am under no illusion that people don’t take our promotional ideas, so therefore, it is difficult to be unique.
One of the most significant elements, is we have a weekly talk show on the biggest sports channel in Europe, Sky Sports.
Every week we invite different fighters to build their profile on our show. Plus, all our events are on Sky Sports every six weeks. Another element that we always try to achieve is a fast-paced running show i.e. no unscheduled breaks, delays or massive entertainment pauses. From the moment the show starts; it is cameras, lights, and action.
Whether it involves gymnastics, stilt-walking girls, fireworks, break dancers or rap artists; we do everything in our power to not just make it a fight show, but an entertainment show that people will want to come back to time and time again.
I suppose the proof in the pudding is that the last eight shows have been sold out.
It’s not as if the team behind us has not been working for two minutes, some have been working with us for the past ten years. All we’ve done is improved standards and made everyone’s lives easier.
Fighters do not want to stress about things like the show starting on time or if the changing rooms are ready. While these are small things, they make the shows run smoothly if done right.
We are still the only company doing blood tests in the UK, which is a shame considering there are so many other organizations not making the same effort or promising they will in the future. Always makes me think of the old saying, ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’.
I suppose, getting back to your original question, what makes UCMMA unique is me. Whatever people will think about doing, I will have already thought of, such as this PPV event; which is big for the UK.
You’ve been in the MMA game for a long time. What is your favourite fight that you’ve ever promoted and why?
It’s really hard when you say, what is your favourite fight?
Sometimes, you don’t promote a fight, but it can turn out to be one of the best you’ve ever seen.
What fight always springs to mind, and had the whole arena on their feet, was Cyborg vs. Melvin Manhoef. It was an absolute stand-up war, something out of a Rocky movie.
Another great ‘Rocky’ moment was Michael Pastou vs. Tim Radcliff. Tim was getting beaten and knocked about the whole round until he knocked out Michael with his final last effort with a phenomenal head kick.
The fight I had the most fun promoting was Tank Abbott vs. Kiane Sabet. It involved trips around London, dancing girls in night clubs, open-topped buses, and everything else you could imagine. But you know what? The fight never went ahead as Kiane got injured but that is just the MMA game.
Is there another heavyweight out there with deadlier hands than Mark Potter?
Unfortunately, there are no heavyweights with hands like Mark but there is a light heavyweight in the name of Jamie Hearn that has hands just as fast.
He beat Mark’s record by knocking out Ian ‘The Monster’ Hawkins in just under 14 seconds. It took Oli Thompson three rounds to beat Hawkins, and Ben Smith one round.
Hawkins has been hit by both of these guys and he said, ‘I don’t know who hits harder, but I know one thing. That is the most power I’ve ever felt from two men’.
Hearn has already said he would fight Potter at any time. So watch this space, it’s going to happen.
Where do you want Ultimate Challenge to be in five years time from now?
As I have said many times before, my goal with MMA is to get it to mainstream TV. I would like to be on as many TV stations around the world as possible. We already have 66 hours of fights, all Sky-quality broadcasts.
We have over 40 knockouts, and we’ve got 54 30-minute Cage Fighter shows.
As we speak, I am currently speaking to two television channels about a MMA series. UFC turned the corner with the Ultimate Fighter. It’s just a matter of time before UCMMA lands the big one over here. Five years is a long way off. If I haven’t done it in two, I might kiss this game goodbye.
Thanks very much for taking the time and is there anyone that you’d like to thank at this point?
I would like to thank my team, and all the people who support UCMMA and Cage Rage UK. All I can say guys, is thanks a million and see you at the top.
Cage Rage UK Presents UCMMA 22: Warrior Creed
Saturday August 6th
The Troxy, London
Full Card
Super Title Fight: Alex Reid vs. Jason Barrett
K1 Super Title Fight: Dean Amasinger vs. Luke Sines
Karl Lawrence vs. Iain Martell
Andy McEwan vs. Spencer Hewitt
Karen Ousey vs. Anna Zucchelli
UK1 Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Valentino Petrescu vs. Jamie Hearn
Tomasz Czerwinski vs. Darren Towler
Miguel Bernard vs. Jack Mason
Chris Harman vs. Przemyslaw Misiek
Celine Haga vs. Michelle Tyler
Romy da Silva vs. Louis King
Sam Morrison vs. Charlie Francis
