Issue 115
June 2014
Triple Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Coach of the Year’ Greg Jackson is now franchising out his Jackson’s MMA brand through a newly launched affiliate instructor program.
Coaches who enrol in the Jackson’s MMA Association and complete a three-and-a-half day course in New Mexico, USA, with the man himself, will be granted permission to associate their gym with the Jackson’s brand.
From there they have access to special curriculum sheets and class plans designed by the trainer of fighters such as UFC 205lb kingpin Jon Jones.
“The Jackson’s MMA association provides gyms and martial arts schools with a progressive, leveled and structured curriculum that allows any student to learn Jackson’s mixed martial arts,” said Jackson. “It provides all the necessary support to run an MMA program in any martial arts school or gym. (Affiliates will be) given specific instructions on how we coach.”
300
The Nevada State Athletic Commission had over 300 applicants for the position of executive director.
Promoters and government argue over MMA law's medical coverage
MMA promoters and local lawmakers in the US are debating the details of a 2013 bill that legalized mixed martial arts in Connecticut.
Event organizers are asking for the rewording of sections that require them to be legally liable for the long-term health care costs of fighters who incur injuries at their events. Instead, they propose providing medical insurance, which would cover short-term treatment.
However, Senate President Donald Williams is arguing that would weaken the current law, and claimed promoters didn’t want to be “responsible for the full costs of injuries that they know will result in this sport”. Connecticut is the only state in the US that requires the safeguard in question.
Industry jobs
Who: Ed Soares
Role: Manager, promoter
Info: President of Resurrection Fighting Alliance, manager of MMA great Anderson Silva and the Black House stable of fighters
As the former owner of the MMA-centric clothing brand Sinister, what advice would you give people looking to get into the apparel industry?
“The apparel industry today, not only in MMA but in its entirety, is very different than when I started back in 1998. The advice I have wouldn’t be as effective today as it would have been years ago. Overall I believe you have to love what you do because the apparel industry is difficult to get into and it takes a lot of work so you better love what you do because if you are doing it strictly for the money you are already starting off on the wrong foot.”
How do you find time to run Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA)?
“As soon as I came on board we wanted to establish ourselves as the developmental league for the UFC. I think we have been able to do that and do it very well. As far as my duties, I do a little bit of everything still. But as in my management work, we have also built a great team at RFA. The reason I am able to do it and the reason it’s successful is because we have such a great team around me.”
How do you prioritize your work on any given day?
“It’s like triage. Whatever is most critical gets the most attention. You can’t plan that. It just happens. Look at the accident that happened with Anderson (leg break, UFC 168). You can have a plan but sometimes a plan just doesn’t work and s**t happens. You have to be able to adapt and make quick decisions. You have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. You show up at a scene and 10 people are laid out. You have to start with the most critical and work your way back.”
Rallying/Crashed: The MMA business can be cruel and kind
Rallying: Fuji Sports
The official fight glove supplier to World Series of Fighting, Fuji Sports has been going since the 1960s and is enjoying a higher profile now than it ever has. Already a force in judo, past and present endorsees such as Ronda Rousey and Royler Gracie mean Fuji’s beginning to shine in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA.
Crashed: ADX
Once one of the more recognizable players in the MMA apparel game, ADX is focusing on the skateboarding market these days, although it does still sell fight shorts and rash guards. At its most entrenched, ADX was sponsoring fighters such as Cung Le, Jimi Manuwa and Jamie Varner.
