For every wannabe Dana White in existence, Joe Donofrio has a warning: Be careful what you wish for.
Donofrio is the promoter of record for the Jan. 30 “Malice at The
Palace” event in Auburn Hills, Mich., one of the first regulated
professional mixed martial arts shows in Michigan’s history, and he
knows well the process of taking the sport to an unregulated market.
But Donofrio warns aspiring promoters that there are a variety of
potholes on the paved road to promotional success, not the least of
which is the rules adopted by the agency when it begins regulation in
the first place.