SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
November - 2015
17
in Saskatoon. Needless to say,
when the UFC comes into a
city, they tell everyone what’s
what and how high to jump.
It’s entirely different for a first-
time promotion, and certainly
with a brand-new governing
body. The provincial commis-
sion in Saskatchewan also
made its debut with the UFC
Fight Night and they had to
have a much more hands-on
role when not dealing with the
biggest promotion in the world,
which runs its own show with
extremely limited interference.
Early Days
Off the hop, the first thing that
needed to be done was get all
the Commission requirements
fulfilled when it came to who
owned and operated the show.
Then began the hunt.
As many fighters as there are
now in MMA, very few want
to take any risks. It’s under-
standable on one front. The
money isn’t what it used to be
for fighters. Guys who once
made $1,000+$1,000 are now
seeing their pay cut by at least
25%. A new promotion like
Prestige FC will try to offset
expenses if possible in ways in-
cluding paying for medicals (or
at least setting them up) and
covering the majority, if not all,
of the meal expenditures when
the fighters arrive.
But on the other hand, there
are fighters who love to talk
and pretty much leave it at
that. The phrase ‘anyone,
anywhere, anytime’ is often a
fighter’s mantra, yet there are
a just a handful of fighters who
will actually step up. Many
MMA fighters are now stack-
ing their records much in the
same way boxers have in the
past – beat up as many tomato
cans as possible to rack up the
‘W’s and wait by the phone.
It’s understandable that fight-
ers want the big money at the
UFC can offer, and to a lesser
extent the Triple-A shows such
as Bellator and WSOF. But
those contracts are few and far
between, especially with recent
news of a potentially dramatic
UFC cut to its roster.
So finding fighters is not that
easy. Certainly there are ones
that want a fight and are will-
ing to see what’s in store for
them by building their record.
But if you want a ‘name’ fight-
er on your Double- or Single-A
show, it’s tough sledding. You
need to find locals with decent
records who are trying to re-es-
tablish themselves or have, for
whatever reason, not captured
the attention of bigger shows.
You’ll also need a needle in
the haystack like a former UFC
or The Ultimate Fighter com-
petitor who needs a fight or
two to get back in the major
league’s picture. The rub there
is that they have to know that
a smaller show is not going to
shell out big money because of
who they once were or what
they once did.
Ducks in a row
Once you’ve assembled a fight
card, well, good luck keeping
it intact. Injuries are part of the
game and so is the fact that
fighters pull out for a variety of
reasons.
Guys get hurt, but how or why
they get hurt a week or two
from fight night is beyond frus-
trating. What are you doing
rolling with world champions
or full-out with your fight right
around the corner?
And it’s amazing how many
fighters wave off a fight due
to injury coincidentally just
as their opponent starts talk-
ing about how they’re going
to inflict damage upon going
head-to-head. It’s then very
suspicious when a fighter pulls
out claiming a significant injury
then mysteriously appearing
on another fight card a month
after their scheduled bout.
As you’re filling out your lineup
and simultaneously replacing
fighters who’ve fallen away,
you’re also dealing with any
number of issues from the
commission, like incorrectly
filled out medical forms and
licenses, attracting and sign-
ing sponsors, booking and
re-booking flights, setting up
media interviews, and making
sure you’ve got everything ar-
ranged with the arena.
Oh, yeah, and trying to sell
tickets.
