Press Release – March 26, 2012 – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – So you finally made it, kid. For all that hard work, all those long hours, all that dedication and self sacrifice, this is what you get. You get this letter. It seems like a small token compared to your investment, doesn’t it? Well rest assured it’s not. It’s the key to your future, kid. This is where you’ll teach. This is where you’ll learn. You will keep this place in your heart for the rest of your life. Hey, you hear me, kid? See there at the bottom? Just sign. You earned it. Welcome to the MFC. Welcome to the Ivy League of mixed martial arts.
In the Ivy League, opportunity is created. You don’t go to Yale to limit your options. No academic in Harvard is there to remain stagnant. When you hit the Ivy League of MMA, other opportunities can be better faced and openly embraced. Each fighter has his own aspirations for his career, and those aspirations are considered and respected by the MFC. This is a team made to help fighters, not hinder them, even if that means working to see them realize goals that exist outside the MFC. You’re an Ivy Leaguer now, baby.
In the Ivy League, people are invited to be part of something major. The history is storied and significant from Hanover, New Hampshire to State College, Pennsylvania. Walk into any of these edifices of higher education; each step down the hallway echoes with worth – just as each step onto the MFC’s crisp canvas signifies the completion of a journey from paid fighter to professional athlete. Now you’re internationally live on HDNet. Now you’re on Canada’s largest sports network – TSN. Now you’re with the biggest show in Canada. Now you’re with one of the top damn shows in the world. Now you’re part of something big. An Ivy League institution is not about the pillars of its entrance, it’s about the pillars of education, and the MFC is not about the sport for its good, it’s about the good of the sport.
In the Ivy League, resources are abundant. Last year, the total combined endowments for the Ivy League schools were near $100 billion. Pass the Grey Poupon. While you’re at it, throw its logo on your shirt because a fighter without sponsors is akin to a surgeon without anaesthetic – you can still get it done, but it’s going to be ugly. You’ve got a bigger team behind you now, a team that will connect you with the corporate support you need. You’ll be doing interviews for radio, television, print, and electronic media. Sponsors and media are your new best friends, and there’s a new adage too: don’t call them. They’ll call you.
In the Ivy League, peripheral skills are strengthened. It doesn’t matter if you’re studying physics or Phys. Ed. – skills outside the core curriculum are developed and dilated. Abilities like leadership, values like work ethic, and characteristics like restraint come with the territory when you’re Ivy. These types of strengths are specifically coached, one-on-one, in the MFC. Fighters are made to be social media savvy – a trait they can carry through their careers. You remember how important sponsors are, right? Here you’ll be taught how to hold a professional interview without regurgitating the same trite answers time and again. Yeah, yeah – we know you can’t look past him and you’ve got to get after it. You want more fans? You want more photos? You want more Franklins? Listen to your media coaches.
In the Ivy League, core skills are strengthened. Every new challenge demands more of your mind than you have to give and more of your time than you have to grant. You’ve done fine with your rugged good looks and million dollar smile so far, but that’s nothing 65 facial stitches and half dozen missing teeth won’t reverse. Your core skills are the root of the tree of success, so snap off a switch and whoop somebody with it. You’re in there with elite strikers. You’re in there with NCAA championship wrestlers. You’re in there with national judo champions. Proverbs 27:17 tells us as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. You already know what that means. Now you’ll feel it.
In the Ivy League, milestones are forged. An all-star in the National Football League grips firmly to the fulfilment of his NFL accomplishments, and he also holds a different and unique pride in his collegiate success. In a similar stratum, the best fighters of the Maximum Fighting Championship give a satisfied gaze to the mantel that holds their achievements in the MFC alongside the other triumphs of their mixed martial arts’ careers. No matter where your fighting career takes you, take this opportunity for all it’s worth. Hoist that Heisman.
In the Ivy League, respect is habitual. Some of the world’s greatest leaders, prominent figures, and influential academics boast Ivy League alumni status. For better or worse, respect is expected and rarely neglected. In the MFC, you’ll learn all about respect from the time your plane lands. You’ll be picked up promptly and handed a 20-page agenda. You’ll be treated with dignity and expected to perform. You’ll be weighing in at a prominent downtown hub in front of more cheering fans than attended your last fight. You deserve it, kid.
This is the Ivy League. This is where great becomes exceptional, boys become men, and fighters become professional athletes. This may be the place you stay, this may be a place you visit, this may be a place you return to, and you’ll never be the same. You’re pro now, son, so make the most of it. Before you go out there and show them what you’ve got, take this last piece of advice. You might be in the Ivy League now, but make no mistake. This isn’t about co-eds, dorm parties, blonde lawyers, or scholarships. This is the school of hard knocks. This is the MFC.