Issue 112
March 2014
Recently retired former UFC fighter Din Thomas has founded a company that offers to help fighters game-plan for their opponents.
The unusual service, called MMA Scouting Report, which Thomas will provide with the help of fellow UFC veteran Roli Delgado, includes a written report on your opponent and a conference call with a consultant.
Thomas told MMA Fighting: “What we’re trying to do is what Mike Dolce does with dieting, only we want to do it for guys who have fights coming up. I just help guys out and give them an advantage if they want it.”
For $199 a client receives all the aforementioned help, while the $299 ‘Gold’ option adds a report on your own abilities, and the $499 ‘Platinum’ choice provides you with video drills and a full strategic game plan.
Thomas says he spotted the hole in the market after realizing the lessons he learned during his 15-year fight career could be valuable to others.
“I’d scout guys and I’m thinking, ‘How would I fight them?’” said Thomas, who made his UFC debut in 2001 against BJ Penn. “And I’m thinking of all the things I’d need to do to beat these guys. Ten years ago I was like, ‘Keep that jab popping, use that movement, and so on.’ But as I’m scouting guys I was like, man, there’s no way I can do this for three rounds.”
Industry jobs
Who: Craig Maxfield
Role: Director and founder of Banned Fightwear
Info: A bucking-the-trend MMA apparel company, Banned counts UFC veteran Paul Daley among its sponsored athletes.
Why did you start Banned?
“I was traveling across the country doing judging using fuel. It was to make a little money to pay for that and, because fighter pay isn’t great, to subsidise local fighters. Eventually it built up to what it is now.”
What’s been the key to the success you’ve had? And advice for others?
“Nothing but hard work. We always look to improve. We worked with a designer at the very beginning that after a few months we didn’t feel was working. Someone else approached us who was in a better situation to help us, with a better understanding of what we needed for the product and we adapted. We don’t rest on our laurels and say, ‘This is really good, let’s stick with it.’ We say, ‘This is good, but how can we improve?’”
Would you recommend starting an MMA apparel company?
“No. If you’re going to do it you’ve got to do it properly. You can’t go in thinking you’re going to make it in six months, because you’re not. The ‘TapouT boom’ was a once-in-a-lifetime thing that’s never going to be repeated. Those guys made it very big, very quick. That’s never going to happen again for anyone. Unless you’ve got time and money to put into it, and a steely determination to want to be involved in MMA, don’t try it.”
15,650
With 15,650 people in the MGM Grand, UFC 168 was the most attended Las Vegas event the company has ever staged.
World Series of Fighting set for two mainstream TV cards
Two upcoming World Series of Fighting (WSOF) events will be broadcast on NBC. It will be the first time live mixed martial arts has been shown on the major US channel.
All of WSOF’s eight fight cards have so far aired on NBC subsidiary, NBC Sports Network. No dates for the NBC shows have been announced.
Organization president Ray Sefo told The Huffington Post: “(NBC is) starting to promote WSOF on there, which reaches millions and millions of other people that probably don’t know much about the sport or have never seen it.”
2013
UFC president Dana White was voted the winner of the ‘Sports Innovator of the Year 2013’ award by Sports Business International magazine subscribers and an expert panel.
Rallying/Crashed: The MMA business can be cruel and kind
Rallying: RDX
Boasting a fight gear range of umatched depth, RDX has made its name by offering nearly anything a fighter could need, with an eye on competitive pricing. Based out of Europe, RDX is going from strength to strength on both sides of the Atlantic.
Crashed: Take A Nap
Take A Nap Fight Gear used to be one of the better known providers of MMA and grappling equipment and clothing. Based in Oceanside, California, it was started by BJJ black belt Corey Bennin in 2005, yet little’s been seen of the firm for several years.
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