Co-promotion works.
For MMA fans, that might feel like a bold statement. After all, for years the UFC has eschewed it, preferring instead to establish themselves as the dominant player in the market and force fighters to come to them. You’l…
Co-promotion works.
For MMA fans, that might feel like a bold statement. After all, for years the UFC has eschewed it, preferring instead to establish themselves as the dominant player in the market and force fighters to come to them. You’ll see the UFC’s best fighting the best from other organizations about the time you see pigs fly.
But, in boxing, co-promotion has a storied history, including a little bout you may have heard of—Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. That was a fight that brought together rival fighters, rival networks (HBO and Showtime) and rival promoters (Bob Arum and Al Haymon).
If those long-time deadly enemies can do it, anyone can—something Legacy FC and Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) intend to prove Friday night on AXS TV, no matter the cost. The two promotions, arguably the top farm systems for future UFC stars, will duke it out in a five-fight battle to establish supremacy on the regional scene.
“We have been working behind the scenes for years to negotiate a promotion versus promotion superfight,” AXS Fights CEO Andrew Simon said. “…After discussions with some of the top external promotions, it became clear that they weren’t interested in making it happen. Through the years, we have come close a couple times to two AXS TV promotions setting up an event, and then it would fall apart. It took two quality promotions with great ownership like RFA and Legacy to put it together.”
As Simon points out, bringing rival promotions together can be a tricky business. There are financial and logistical hurdles involved to be certain. But the biggest obstacle of all, Legacy FC owner Mick Maynard tells Bleacher Report, is much more personal.
“Egos are usually the biggest obstacle, first and foremost. We all have them and no one wants to lose and look bad,” Maynard said. “I think once you get beyond that it really is about understanding that this is good for our TV partner, good for the fighters, good for RFA and Legacy and good for the sport overall. The biggest risk and downside is our ego taking a bit of a beating.
“…There are financial issues to work through—who comes out first from each corner, who is the co-main, etc. Honestly there are a host of things we have had to work through. It has taken months. The only reason this is happening is because at the end of the day we are all like-minded reasonable people. It most definitely wouldn’t work with everyone which is also why this is so special.”
While none of the fighters involved are household MMA names—yet—everyone involved is confident their rising stars are a match for both the other guy’s and the UFC’s own crop of young fighters to boot. For these two promotions, building stars for bigger promotions is the name of the game. They are establishing primacy, not as promotions, but as the top farm systems in the sport.
“Everyone has always asked the question ‘What if this champ fought that champ?’ Well, we decided to answer the question. We have faith in where our guys stack up against any promotion out there so it really wasn’t that hard to pull the trigger,” RFA COO Sven Bean said. “…I think that RFA and Legacy are the leaders in developing talent, and by coming together only compounds that. I don’t see how it couldn’t. Two of the very best promotions in the sport working together, and doing it with such a stacked card, can only produce great results for everyone involved.”
What follows is an exclusive look at highlights from many of the young prospects on the card. These aren’t just the fighters of the future—they are finishers fully capable of wowing the crowd right now.
“I expect that the MMA world will be watching closely and that a win on this card offers a new level of fame and opportunity for the victors,” Simon said. “No one sends more fighters to the UFC than Legacy and RFA each year. This event will be one of the top showcases for MMA in 2015.”
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