Author: Jonathan Shrager

“Alchemist” MMA is an auspicious appellation on several levels. To fully appreciate the essence of the business, one must look no further than the proud brand name per se. An alchemist is a person who is versed in or practices “alchemy,” the dictionary definition of which is “the medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy whose principal concern was the magical process of transmuting a specific substance into a substance of greater value.”

This concept neatly encapsulates Alchemist’s primary purpose, which intrinsically hinges upon optimising the brand equity of each one of the high-profile fighters that inhabits their impressive roster, thereby maximising their commercial value. However there is absolutely nothing medieval or speculative about “Alchemist Management’s” practical appropriation of the age-old theory. Indeed, this is an MMA enterprise that proactively harnesses contemporary and substantiated methods, in the forms of social media and mainstream marketing.

I recently caught up with the President of “Alchemist Management”, Lex McMahon, during his brief sojourn in Britain to attend BAMMA 7 alongside prized client Nate “The Great” Marquardt. I quizzed the executive on a miscellany of topics yielding a wealth of fascinating insights into his personality, business and MMA clients.

JS: OK, thanks for taking the time to talk today Lex. So how are you and Nate finding England?

LM: It has been a wonderful experience thus far. Nate and I are having a great time. BAMMA has treated us both incredibly well, rolling out the red-carpet treatment. Nate has been treated exactly as he should be treated, as one of the best fighters in the world.

JS: Fantastic. And what have you made of the local cuisine?

LM: Nate and I went to enjoy a bit of curry at one of the local curry houses here in London; we had a great meal of chicken Tika Masala, lamb vindaloo, garlic naan all accompanied by a few kingfishers. 

JS: Haha, yes we Brits are fond of our curry. I hope Nate realises that he won’t be able to indulge in such cuisine when he’s cutting weight for BAMMA 8. Are you finding BAMMA to be a professional MMA outfit?

LM: Everything I’ve seen leads me to believe that they are an absolutely top-notch organisation. I have the distinct pleasure of working with the UFC on a regular basis, so I am afforded the opportunity to witness the manner in which they run their organisation, and it appears as if BAMMA is matching their level of professionalism, though obviously on a smaller scale.

David Green, BAMMA CEO, is incredibly bright, a savvy businessman who understands the production values associated with a great MMA event, and how that can be a game-changer for an organisation. It bodes well for the MMA industry both domestically in the UK, and internationally, to have another significant, legitimate player that provides fighters with another platform upon which to showcase their talents.

JS: People had predicted drama between Nate and Paul Daley during the build-up to BAMMA 7, but in the end nothing allegedly transpired. Knowing that Nate is a man who prefers to avoid confrontation, was this a relief?

LM: Listen. Fighters fight—that’s what they do. But professional fighters fight in the cage. Very rarely does tension between fighters boil over into fisticuffs at a press conference, because it’s really in nobody’s interest to fight for free, as opposed to entertaining the fans. There’s always a brief moment where you’re unsure as to whether a skirmish might occur, but thankfully everything seemed cordial at the BAMMA 7 pre-fight presser.

Fighters understand the importance of promoting an event, and helping to create an air of excitement around certain matchups. Nate has taken significant umbrage at Paul’s comments about the TRT incident, but to both their credit, they realise as professionals that there is a time and a place to express their feelings of dislike for each other.

JS: Fair enough. It’s readily discernible that you were an MMA writer because you articulate your points very well. Do you miss the writing aspect at all?

LM: I miss writing I suppose, but I apply the same skills to my current job in endeavouring to explore new avenues for my clients. The prime example would be Nate. He’s fought in England before, but for a US organisation. Now he’s representing a UK promotion, so it’s an entirely new market.

I have to further explore the novel terrain in order to ascertain significant sponsorship deals. And it doesn’t all depend on the financial gain. It also involves choosing congruent sponsorship partners that can offer the right level of co-branding. This is a great opportunity for UK brands to align themselves with one of the world’s best mixed martial artists. We will look to associate Nate with some mainstream English sports brands, and likewise we will aim to gain some mainstream media exposure for Nate.

MMA in the UK is still growing as a sport, and in terms of media exposure. Having someone of Nate Marquardt’s stature should accelerate that process. 

JS: OK, have you viewed this trip to the UK for BAMMA as a potential scouting mission?

LM: Well, I’m always scouting. But it’s not a numbers game, because that business model doesn’t work. It’s quality over quantity. There are several criteria which a fighter must meet; I have to find talented mixed martial artists, with a high degree of marketability and fighters that are also decent human beings outside of the cage. I spend a lot of time with my clients, travelling extensively with them, which ultimately signifies time spent away from my family.

In order to make that sizeable sacrifice, I have to be certain of the client’s credentials as a fighter and a person. I need to believe in them, in order to invest both financially and emotionally. The fight game is a roller coaster of emotion, and as a fighter’s representative you share in that gamut of highs and lows, so a strong rapport with the client is a prerequisite.

JS: Well I’ve noticed quite a strong military foundation that underpins Alchemist MMA, with several team members and fighters with military backgrounds. There is a British Army Private named Jack Marshman fighting at BAMMA 7, whose progress may be worth keeping tabs on.

Is the ultimate aim to facilitate entrance into the UFC for your cohort of athletes?

LM: The UFC is the 800-pound gorilla in terms of constituting the preeminent organisation, but there are plenty of other promotions that possess a niche which they are filling admirably. BAMMA and Bellator are both doing great things. The UFC is not the home for a young, untested fighter because he’s liable to be exposed.

The UFC only has 25 heavyweights under contract, so if you aren’t ready to fight, you won’t be sticking around for long. The UFC has approximately 300 fighters on the roster. That’s not an abundance of space for a burgeoning sport like MMA, so there are a copious amount of fighters that are seeking a platform to showcase their skills. Don’t get me wrong, the UFC is great, and I’m a huge advocate of the organisation and how it operates, but it isn’t the only organisation around, and there are other options.

JS: As your business is essentially based around brand-building/positive public perception for fighters, I’d love to quiz you a little on the times when you have to overlook periods of adversity that may tarnish the reputation of your fighters, whether through loss of form in the cage, or controversies outside the cage.

First of all, loss of form within the cage. You acknowledge that your motto of “train, fight, win” isn’t necessarily a guarantee within the unpredictable and dynamic realm of MMA, so how do you troubleshoot a loss for your clients? For example, with Brendan Schaub, a promising young prospect, how do you minimalise the damage of his recent loss, especially following a huge pre-fight marketing push?

LM: Well it entails a few things. You have to be candid in your discussions in attempting to comprehend the outcome of the fight. With regards to Brendan, he is still one of the top heavyweights in the UFC. He lost to a man who is considered one of the all-time great MMA heavyweights, who is only 34 years old and fighting healthy for the first time since his Pride days.

Minotauro is a legend for a reason, but he wasn’t necessarily the better fighter. Granted, he caught Brendan with a great shot, but up until that point, Brendan was pressing the action and arguably dominating the fight. I went backstage immediately to converse with Brendan, and I speak to him several times daily.

I conveyed the message to him that he’s still one of the world’s best, he’ll continuously improve and that the UFC still evidently believes in him. Brendan is being flown to New Orleans by the UFC for Ultimate Fight Night 25 as a guest fighter, a fortnight later he’ll be in Houston for the MMA Expo, and then he’ll join me in the UK for UFC 138. They’re utilising him extensively, and that’s what I’ve highlighted. And you must ensure that the fighters understand that with those little gloves, it’s easy to get caught. The greatest fighters in the sport have all suffered losses, because they are constantly pitted against the best, like boxing used to be in its heyday.

 JS: OK, and now moving onto the person outside the cage, you mentioned previously of your desire to work with affable human beings as well as mixed martial artists. If a particularly controversial character approached you for representation, say a Paul Daley or Nick Diaz, what would you decide?

LM: It is a case-by-case basis. I’d look at it and see if it made sense. We conduct an analysis of each individual case, so we’d have to assess whether the fighter in question meets our metrics. With regards to Nick Diaz, ultimately he made a bad decision by not turning up to the presser, but that doesn’t implicitly signify that he’s a bad guy.

I’d view it as an opportunity to work with a fighter on the issues that are impeding his progress within the sport. The crux of an agent’s job is his role as an advisor, and to guide a career forward as smoothly as possible.

A lot of public perception about fighters isn’t necessarily in keeping with the reality. For example, Josh Koscheck is perceived to be the pantomime villain within MMA, and that is how the media depicts him. But in reality, he happens to be an incredibly cool guy, very humble, courteous and great fun. He’s the whole nine yards. But the image that he self-portrays is a role that he assumes, acutely aware of the fact that it will incite conversation amongst the fans.

JS: I read in one of your previous interviews that you were particularly proud of the Jorge Rivera UFC 127 campaign, and whilst lighthearted, this was based on ridiculing another fighter. In terms of promoting a fight, where do you draw the line between begetting a buzz and remaining respectful towards the integrity of the sport and its competitors? In this instance, the boundaries seemed to be blurred.

LM: It’s all subjective. We don’t always get it right. But the key is to be in tune with the fans’ reactions. We’ll sit down and craft a plan. There might be multiple videos consistently released during a campaign, as with Stefan Struve prior to UFC 130. We partnered with Heavy.com to release the viral content, and then these videos were featured on UFC.com, amassing a significant total of views.

JS: OK, and with the Bisping campaign specifically, were you drawing upon the fact that he isn’t generally a popular mixed martial artist, so you were effectively hedging your bets that the viral onslaught would prove successful?

LM: The campaign proved successful internationally. Obviously, Michael is popular over here in the UK, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for his talent as a fighter. But he is someone who has exhibited a tendency to react to situations emotionally. So, in conjunction with Jorge’s sponsors, we investigated ways to take advantage of this character trait.

We anticipated that it would elicit a response, which could then reach the masses. Whilst it was a collaborative effort, I accredit Nick Palmisciano, CEO of Ranger Up, with this masterstroke. He’s incredibly witty and his humour permeated the campaign, proving the driving force behind its success.

JS: Also, in the interview I conducted with Nate, he was more outspoken than I’d ever known for him to be. Was this a conscious decision by the both of you to make a stand and garner interest?

LM: The important thing is to act with authenticity. Actions have to be real. It cannot be contrived. Nate was genuinely upset with remarks by certain fighters (Paul Daley, Hector Lombard, Ben Askren, BJ Penn) in the aftermath of the recent TRT incident, who all took shots at Nate whilst he was down and dealing with an extremely difficult situation.

Understandably, it rubbed Nate the wrong way. Nate really wants to fight all those guys, and the chances are that during his career you will witness Nate fighting Paul, Hector, BJ and Ben, if the opportunities present themselves. Nate and I certainly will discuss the intended approach for the rhetoric and tone he will adopt for a certain interview. It’s about crafting and controlling the message. But the message is real.

We are now positioning ourselves to finalise a fight with Daley, so by recounting the narrative, and consequently garnering interest via a public war of words, makes perfect business sense. But it wouldn’t work if it wasn’t genuine. Like you allude to, Nate is a gentleman, and one of the nicest guys you could possibly wish to meet inside and outside of MMA, so it’s not typical of his character to be overstated and criticise a fellow fighter publicly. But that just serves to indicate the extent of Nate’s frustration towards the comments.

JS: That all makes sense. I almost couldn’t believe Nate’s responses to my questions at the time. OK, during your short time as a practising business, was the UFC on Versus 4 Nate incident the most difficult you’ve had to deal with thus far?

LM: It was a challenge, but it also represented an opportunity to dig in and fight for our client, which we were all proud to do as a team and then we moved on. Nate, myself, Hammer, Jeff Aronson and Kelly all addressed the issues and went about resolving them. Nate and I appeared on Ariel Helwani’s respected show, the MMAHour, and we communicated Nate’s version of events. The most challenging part was witnessing a dear friend of mine endure a period of adversity.

JS: You mentioned the well-publicised interview with Ariel. Who approached who for that interview?

LM: It was an opportunity that presented itself, and that’s all that I’ll say. To be honest, we’ve publicly addressed Nate’s issues, so I prefer not to rehash that information. I prefer to look towards the future, and Nate’s future with BAMMA is very exciting. Let’s go on and win some titles again.

JS: Does it as a result become more difficult for you to deal with representatives of an organisation like the UFC for other fighters, in light of the way Nate was treated? Or do you just have to remain professional?

LM: There is no option but to be professional in every aspect of what you do, otherwise you won’t be around for very long. We had to deal with the reality. We envisaged ourselves in Dana’s position, and empathised with his reaction. What transpired was unfortunate, with the public firing of Nate via YouTube.

Simultaneously, we considered the UFC and respected their decision. The UFC was great to Nate throughout the six years he fought for the organisation, but now his home is BAMMA. If I’m going to represent all of my clients, I cannot allow a solitary experience to definitively shape my rapport with the UFC. I’m a huge advocate of the UFC, Dana White, the Fertittas and how they operate. What they’ve achieved for the MMA industry is tremendous, and simply has to be respected.

In fact, their influence in creating the industry cannot be measured, effectively catapulting it from relative obscurity into mainstream consciousness.

JS: Onto MC Hammer, he boasts a big following on Twitter, a tool which Dana White is forever endorsing. Hammer enables you to transmit your message to many non-MMA fans. Have you ever mentioned this to Dana? He must love it?

LM: Dana and Hammer interact regularly on Twitter. They have motives for conversing publicly. Hammer is considered one of the world’s foremost social media experts, having lectured at Harvard and many other reputable establishments. Hammer understands the power of social media, as does Dana. It makes perfect sense, as we are trying to help promote Dana’s fighters.

Asking Hammer to join Alchemist as the CEO was our partner Jeff Aronson’s idea. Jeff is a very savvy businessman and world-class marketer. He realized that the combination of Hammer’s business acumen, background in dealing with high-level sport, celebrity and prowess in social media would make for a powerful leader to drive the success of our company.

JS: Do Hammer and Jeff work full-time with Alchemist MMA? Or is it one of their numerous ventures?

LM: I’m very fortunate to have a one-two punch in Hammer and Jeff. Hammer is our CEO, and he’s highly involved in the strategy and growth of our organisation. He and I consult on a regular basis in order to review our business and drive the growth of our company.

At the end of the day, Hammer makes the decisions and I execute them, as is typical for any CEO. Hammer is a celebrity, which always helps, but more importantly, he’s a social-media guru and incredibly bright man. Additionally, Jeff provides deep bench relationships, operational and marketing guidance combined with a tremendous knowledge of the sport.

JS: OK fanstastic. Just a couple of lighthearted questions to conclude the interview. I’ve seen the rap video produced by Hammer, his response to a perceived slight from Jay-Z, in which you appear. In terms of his beef with Jay-Z, who would win between those two in an MMA fight?

LM: Hahaha, well I’ve always got Hammer’s back, no question. Hammer has a background in boxing. He grew up in the streets of Oakland so Hammer knows how to scrap. He had to scrap to survive.

But he has also officially trained in martial arts. I’d pit Hammer against Jay-Z any day of the week, and I’d promote the hell out of that fight.

JS: Haha, yes that would gross a million-plus PPV easily. I’d back Hammer too, even though he’s a few years Jigga’s senior. Why haven’t any of the fighters walked out to the cage to “Can’t Touch This,” in order to pay homage to Hammer?

LM: Because it’s not about Hammer. It’s about the fighters. Hammer’s involvement in the company isn’t a PR stunt for Hammer. He’s represented high-profile sporting luminaries in the past, so he’s au fait when it comes to collaborating with athletes. He’s an incredibly valuable resource to the company.

This isn’t a platform for him to become a bigger MC Hammer. The guy has already sold 50 million records, so he doesn’t need to be any bigger.

What we do is all about the fighters. If a guy expressed an interest in walking to the cage to a Hammer tune, I’m sure he would be appreciative, but it has never arisen in conversation. Hammer has a great rapport with all the guys, and converses with them frequently. But with regards to music choices, each fighter has his preferences.

Often the promotions will select a walkout song for a fighter, or will at least have an input into the choice. For example, Dana and I discussed Brendan’s walkout song choice for Rio. Music is a powerful tool for the promotion when it comes to building the energy within the arena, and psyching up a fighter, so it wouldn’t make sense for us to interject.

JS: Yes, that’s understandable. But as a fan, I’d love to see one of your fighters perform the Hammer dance as part of his post-fight celebrations. What exactly was the discussion you held with Dana regarding Brendan’s walkout song?

LM: Brendan had a thought on a specific song. Dana intervened and commented that this song may not be sufficiently emphatic, as Brendan is about to compete in his biggest fight to date, and he’s in the process of becoming a huge star, so his song selection needed to make a statement. Brendan’s initial choice didn’t fit the bill in Dana’s opinion, so he requested that we review it.

The entourage conferred about different ideas, and in the end Brendan reverted back to his customary Eminem song, of which Dana approved.

JS: OK, that’s great. Well thanks for your time today Lex, it’s much appreciated. Keep enjoying England, and try to fit in another curry in Birmingham.

LM: Haha, no worries man, cheers.

Follow Lex on Twitter @lexmcmahonMMA

Follow me on Twitter @jonathanshrager

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