Issue 134

November 2015

Promoters, not fighters, rule MMA – just like they’ve ruled the fight game since Ancient Rome

Gareth A Davies

TV analyst and MMA reporter for The Daily Telegraph, UK, on the pecking order in fight sports

The promoter has always been king. And that’s why it’s professional suicide for fighters signed with MMA organizations to complain bitterly about sponsorship, payment, uniforms, or a the lack of a union. Promoters almost always decide when, where, and against whom you will be competing. History has always shown this to be the case.

You can argue against this all you want. But take a look at ancient history. Gladiatorial combat as the Romans espoused it, began when ‘slaves’ fought customarily when great commanders died at war. The ‘slaves’ were then given arms and fought against others in the same position. Slowly, gladiatorial ‘sport’ emerged. 

In its beginnings, the contests took place at funeral pyres and sepulchers, but slowly moved away from the religious practice and into the entertainment arena. Those fights moved to the forum, to the circus and then amphitheaters. 

At the time, contractors began to train the slaves, and men of high rank, even those in high political office began to house families of gladiators. Fights were promoted and advertised just as sporting contests are hyped today. Owning gladiators was a sign of prestige.

That evolved, too. It drew those of military rank to compete. Under Nero, between AD 54 and 68, more than a thousand aristocrats are believed to have taken part in fights. Even women of high rank competed.

The practice was abolished by the Christian leader, Theodoric, in 500 AD. But, by then, the courage of gladiators had become part of Roman legend. Some enjoyed a type of immortality, so loved were they. Without suggesting that it’s directly comparable to the UFC today, you can draw a parallel to where it all began. Then the promoters literally were kings.

Although MMA as an organized sport is still in its infancy, professional fights have always been attended by aristocratic, or wealthier members of society. There were times when a prize ring was outlawed in the UK – though even the Prince Regent and the aristocracy still attended bouts.

Slave owners in the United States pitted black fighters against each other and bet on the outcome. Tasteless, now, when we look back on some of these acts in history, but one theme remains constant: the promoter was all-powerful.

In a Darwinian struggle for survival for the fighter, the promoter is the catalyst. To him, or her, the next fight is always the greatest, the most important, the decider, the fight not to be missed. Promoters are risk takers, hype makers, the PR geniuses. 

Tex Rickard, one of the most famous boxing promoters in the early days (1871-1929) was a former gold prospector. He set up duels between men of different colors. He knew it would gain traction. This was prize-fighting, and the bottom line, it was a business.

Rickard, famously, never lost sight of ‘the mood’ of the fan: the paying man. He set up The Ring magazine, in which fighters were rated, and built the second version of Madison Square Garden.

The same holds true today. Promoters are empire builders, survivors, chameleons. The fighters are mere employees, who argue with the boss at risk of no work. That is why the promoter will always be king.

648 BC

Pankration, the oldest form of MMA, also became popular in the ancient world. A blend of boxing and wrestling featuring strikes and submissions, it was introduced to the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC. When the Olympics were revived in 1896 it wasn’t reinstated, although it did return to the World Combat Games in 2010.