Interview by Johnny Cernucan “Doin’
Life Magazine”
Question:
It’s been about 4 months
since we’ve last spoken. It appears the MMAGOLD
brand is growing in the
Region, what do you contribute your fast growth too?
Answer:
It’s been a good first half
in 2012 as I’ve partnered with some very good fighters,
trainer, managers and fight
camps. However, it’s not just the MMAGOLD brand
that is growing in the
region, there are other very well established companies that
I’ve seen gain more mindshare
at the same time. There is room for everyone to
grow, the more companies
involved in our region, it will lead to more
opportunities for fighters to
take advantage of.
Question:
Do you not consider these
other companies competitors?
Answer:
Absolutely not, what you may
call a competitor, I see it as an opportunity to cobrand
together on a deserving
fighter. My platinum business partner is (ilicit)
who have come into in our
region and made an immediate impact. They share
the same passion for MMA as I
do and our objectives of assisting fighters are on
the same level. Then there’s
5150 Fightwear who are very well established and
work with a ton of awesome
fighters. BAMF & Finished MMA are also great
companies that I enjoy
working with for co-branding. In terms of traditional fight
management companies, some of
the very best in our region are Impact Fight
Management, Team Ruiz Fighter
Management and of course 5150 has their hand
in the management game too. I
would recommend any fighter to sign with any of
these management companies as
there all trustworthy and care about the
wellbeing of their fighters.
Question:
Many people are wondering,
are you a fight manager or fight sponsor to top
regional talent and future
prospects?
Answer:
If you look at pure numbers
alone with my fight roster, I’m a fight sponsor first,
then a manager. I very much
enjoy assisting fighters with sponsorships that are
skilled, appreciative and
train full time in pursuing their dream of becoming a
world champion.
Question:
As a follow on question, how
does a fighter become managed or sponsored by
MMAGOLD?
Answer:
Many of my fighters have been
referred to me by other MMAGOLD fighters as
they know the type of
fighters I like to deal with. I would never recruit any fighter
for management as that’s not
my style. Fighter referrals just seem to be a
positive way for the
relationship to begin. Additionally, I’m often contacted by
trainers asking me to take a
look at one of their fighters. I’m not a trainer myself,
but I believe in my ability
to look at a fighter and make good business decisions if
they fit what I look for in a
fighter.
Question:
Your bringing in some good
fighter 3rd party sponsorships that you mentioned
you co-brand with, how do you
decide who to work with and which fighter gets
what?
Answer:
I’ve set up a network of 3rd
party sponsorships that I co-brand with as mentioned
earlier. For any company to
be considered for co-branding, they must bring value
to the fighter and not profit
directly from them. Therefore, when a new fighter is
signed to the MMAGOLD brand,
they can take advantage of additional 3rd party
sponsorships that have been
set up with the fighter’s best interest. With regards
to who gets what, it really
comes down to what a sponsor company is looking to
achieve with a certain fighter
and is the fighter marketable with the sponsor’s
brand. It also depends
heavily on the fighter’s skill level, and appreciation towards
assistance. One thing I’ve
found is, it doesn’t matter how good the fighter is at
times, if there not living up
to their end of the bargain with a sponsor, they can be
dropped. It’s part of my job
to keep the fighter educated on the importance of
maintaining positive
fighter/sponsor relationships. Sponsorships are a critical part
of the fight game as it can
help off-set a fighters income or provide key products
that aid them in their
training.
Question:
In the early stages of a
fighter’s career, do you think every fighter needs
management?
Answer:
I think what’s really
important is a fighter needs to have people they trust first
and foremost. Whether it’s a
manager, a sponsor, a best friends, parent, etc., you
need to know someone’s got
your back. Additionally, it’s important that whoever
the person is that is
supporting the fighter have established relationships with
fight promoters, sponsorships
and print media companies to enable their fighter
with their career.
Question:
What do you think of the
Amateur MMA Market in our Region?
Answer:
I think the Ammy market in
our Region is very good. In terms of number of venues,
there are plenty to choose
from. Personally I like to send fighters to Art of War,
Dawgs of War and Ultimate
Reno Combat. The three promotions I just named
treat the fighters very well
and look out for their best interest. I’m sure there are
others that are just as good
here in the Region, but my time is limited to how
many promotions I can partner
with in the Pro and Ammy market.
Question:
What is the best way a
fighter can get the exposure to the bigger UFC feeder
shows?
Answer:
It all starts right here in
our Region. We have some excellent pro promotions that
can boost a fighters career
and lead them to what I believe are very credible UFC
feeder shows such as Tachi
Palace in Lemoore, CA. Showdown in Salt Lake City,
UT & Superior Cage Combat
in Las Vegas, NV are three very well organized shows
and ran by top guys that know
their stuff.
Question:
We see you attending many UFC
fights sitting cage side, what’s that experience
like?
Answer:
It’s amazing, just being at
any MMA venue is cool enough, but to be cage side at
UFC or Strikeforce is icing
on the cake. A few months ago I was with Andre Fili
sitting cage side in Omaha,
Nebraska to support his UFC teammate from Alpha
Male (TJ Dillashaw) who was
fighting on the UFC Fuel card. Later that night, TJ
told us he heard Andre
shouting instruction every time he was on our side of the
Octagon. I thought that was
pretty cool. Additionally, it’s the entire experience
of being behind the scenes
with UFC fighters and their handlers. It’s no different
than going to a pro baseball
game and being given full access. No matter the sport,
it’s just awesome being
involved with it, specifically when you love your sport.
Question:
Speaking of Andre Fili (9-1)
out of Team Alpha Male, he has been on a terror since
he signed with you back in
Nov, 2011. He was just named MMA KO’s #1 pound for
pound fighter in the region.
What’s that like managing Andre?
Answer:
Andre is the complete
package. He’s an active fighter having already fought four
times in 2012 and will
probably fight another two times this year. He recently
won the West Coast Fighting
145 lb. belt in the main event on June 9th. He puts in
the time and deserves
everything that has come his way. Andre is incredibly
skilled, marketable, humble,
appreciative, and thoughtful of his sponsors and
treats his friends and fans
with so much respect. I’m always blown away when
I’m with Andre and I see him
take time for every fan with a picture or just simply
speaking with them. But
honestly, had I not met Andre through MMA and we
met in another life, he would
still be part of my family, my friend, my bro,
whatever you want to call it,
we just click. We both have each other’s best
interest and make good career
decisions together as Andre is very well business
minded. However, as much as I
believe in Andre, I treat all MMAGOLD Fighters
with the same respect and
support them to their fullest potential. I wouldn’t
bring a fighter onto my squad
if I felt we couldn’t build a personal relationship.
Question:
One more question for you
about Fili, it appears that you have great relationships
as well with his friends and
family which is really cool to see. Any comments on
that?
Answer:
Boss Biz baby, for those that
know Andre’s inner circle, I’ll leave it at that. Love
every one of those dudes;
Romero, Trev, Foley, Ray and the list continues. I’ve
also become close with
Andre’s mother Brandie. She is so proud of him and
consistently appreciates my
support to Andre. I feel blessed to be playing a small
part in Andre’s success.
Question:
You seem like a pretty
relaxed person, what does piss you off?
Answer:
When it comes to MMA, I do
get upset with anyone that doesn’t follow through
on what they say they will do
when it pertains to my fighters. Specifically, when
my name or company name is on
the line, I take precautionary measure to ensure
I deliver to the fighter 100%
of what I committed to.
Question:
One of your fighters Devin
Johnson recently sustained a horrible training accident
breaking his C4, can you
share with us how his prognosis is going.
Answer:
At this point we really don’t
know the extent of Devin’s injury as time will tell.
He’s been transferred to a
re-hab facility in San Jose, CA. Devin has committed he
will fight through this and
will work every day with the medical staff on his
recovery. I would ask friends
and fans to assist with Devin’s medical bills by
donating through these two
sites; (www.devinsmiracle.com) or purchase a “Pray
for Devin” shirt at
(www.venikov.com). Devin remains positive and has the
mental toughness to work
through this.
Question:
During our last interview,
you gave us a great quote, how about one more?
Answer:
Find your passion in life and
use it to support others.
Question:
Who are your key business
partners in the Region?
Answer:
(ilicit) is a huge part of my
business and works closely with many of my fighters,
same with West Coast
Nutrition as they offer my fighters training supplements
and of course Buendia Pro
Performance handles my fighter’s nutritional
consultation similar to the
Dolce Diet. MMA KO, 5150, Game Face Fight Gear,
BAMF, Finished MMA, Fairtex,
Venum and Century MMA training equipment are
critical partnerships to my
business.
Question:
Thanks for your time today,
any final shoutouts?
Answer:
All MMAGOLD fighter’s, Tabriz
from Team Alpha Male, Hitboy & Tom from Art of
War, Rumsey from Carnage
Fight Team, Jim West from Folsom MMA, the fella’s at
West Coast Fighting, Goodman
at Tachi are all very close to me and support my
ambitions of building
fighters in the region. Additonally, I very much enjoy
working with Al & Shelly
from King of the Cage who runs a top notch promotion
looking out for their fighters,
Rebel Fighter, Dragonhouse, CageRadio & Gary
Shurley is a good dude. And
finally, my wife and children who support my passion.
Question:
Final question for you, how
can fans purchase MMAGOLD apparel and support
their MMAGOLD fighter?
Answer:
Fans are welcome to purchase
MMAGOLD shirts, hoodies, hat, etc. from my online
store at www.mmagold.com -
100% of the profits are reinvested back into
additional fighter
sponsorships.
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