Recently I met the guys behind XCFL, and was impressed with how they carried themselves and what they have planned for their new promotion. While we were talking about advertising on NorthEastMMA, and how they wanted to be introduced to the fight fans on the site, they were the polar opposite of many of the promoters we’ve seen lately in many ways. I thought the best way to introduce them to the site was an interview, where they could tell the readers, in their own words what they have planned. I mean, I was impressed with what they had to say, so I imagine you guys would be too, right? They didn’t seem to be into that idea, and said they weren’t looking for the attention…Sure, they wanted some hype to be generated, but they personally didn’t want to be the center of attention. They didn’t want to be the guys saying “HEY, LOOK AT ME! I’M RUNNING AN MMA SHOW AND WE’RE GOING TO FRIGGIN CRUSH EVERYONE! I’M AWESOME!” They said they wanted the promotion to speak for itself, and they seemed to have a quiet confidence about them. It’s like they know everyone is going to love them, but want them to find out for themselves.
They also chose to keep things quiet until they had their dates all booked up for the year, and all their ducks were in a row. That was a pretty big thing that impressed me. Typically, we hear about what people are trying to do, or what they’re hoping to do. With these guys, they kept it all hush, hush until they had 12 dates booked up. Yeah…12 dates, and they already paid the venues and the venues are nice. Their first event is set for Feb. 6 at the Marlborough Convention Center, and their second event is March 26 at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Their 12 events are going to be split between the two locations, and dates will be announced soon.
They have also locked up some pretty big fighters for the two events, and they are the “right” fighters to get on there. I can’t get into that right now, but they’ll release that info soon. They want to be able to put on the best fights around, and they are also putting a big focus on production. They aren’t just talking about smoke machines and lights…they are talking about full on, professional production with video screens, interviews in the locker rooms, commentators and everything else you can imagine. They have the money to spend (both from big sponsors and from their own personal stash) and they are going to really invest some time and money into making it an “event” and not just a bunch of fights.
I don’t want to get into this too much, because quite frankly, they’d rather prove to you that their event is worth your hard earned dollars, and they’re confident that if you give them a chance, you’ll love them, and never miss an event.
the lowell venue is gonna be sick!!its the same place where they have the regional golden gloves tournament!
still waiting………….
I have heard some bad stuff about the promoter of this organization. The word is he is going around stealing main event fights from other organizations by throwing huge money at the fighters. He isnt even trying to make his own matches he is just grabbing fights that are already booked.
I hope this isnt true as that would be a scumbag move to do. I also hope that the fighters wouldnt blow off another organization if they agreed to a fight and fight the same person on a different show instead.
If the rumors are true the promoter comes from a boxing promoter background and this type of crap happens all the time. Hopefully their is more honor and loyalty in Mixed Martial Arts than that
Money is the root of all evil my friend, some people will do anything for it.
Ive seen plenty of companys try this same move. alla Cage Fury, Battle Cage xtreme and the latest crap show promised to be “the next best thing” American steel cage fighting. One thing remains the same, all these promo’s came and went, left fighters hanging, questions unanswered and checks not cashed. look for this group to do the same.
Companies that have been around will stay around because they pay what is reasonable for this area. remember this “If it sounds to good to be true…IT IS”
Scott D what was the organizations and fighters your talking about thats an interesting post….. if you actually can back up what your posting about, or just stirrrin up the pot
As a promoter I know 1st hand what it’s like to have another try to steal fights or fighters.. I hope this is not the case here, I can say in the long run they couldn’t last esp now with as of March 1st – things should tighten up a lot. In saying that I have not heard anything bad yet of them
How can they have 12 shows planned for the year??? The 1st is in Feb, the second at the end of March,,,,,, Are they planning 2 shows or more in the same month??????
I heard from a local fighter that he was getting paid big money to fight the same guy under this promotion instead of the show that booked it.
I have seen the same fight advertised under another promotion. We will see when they come out with their fight card if they stole any “promoted” fights.
First off don’t lie about where uve heard it the original fight was never advertised post under Ur real name . The fight was offered the day before but never promoted ever
so is anyone that REALLY KNOWS whats going on going to enlighten the rest of us or are you just going to play these dumb ass games, if you know something for a fact lets hear it.
I’m only hearing good things about this new promotion. Seems like every time someone new comes along the torches and pitchforks come out. I’m excited to see the promotion/fights, plus the fighters are being offered big money, isn’t that what every fighter has been wishing for?
Plus booking the Lowell Auditorium is just sweet, not a bad seat in the entire house.
so it’s ok to screw over the promoter you gave your word to as long as the money is better from the other guy? i’m all for fighters making a good payday, they deserve it, just wondering if money is worth your integrity, your honor? does the word loyalty mean nothing, is this sport headed right down the shitter in this area, over a few bucks? i hope not ,bad enough the state is going to take a chunk out of the local promoters that put on shows in mass, i can see it now all roads lead to new hampshire.
I’ll use the words my friend Gina likes to use “No Money, No Honey”.
If I’m offered two jobs doing the same thing, different companies, but one is willing to pay me more, I’m going for the money. We are living in shit economic times, I know a lot of fighters who are out of work. A big payday can make a huge difference for some of these guys. I don’t think it’s about honor or anything close to that, it’s a better offer, some of them have no choice but to take whatever is going to keep food in the mouth, rent to the landlord, or gas in the car.
I’ve also seen some promotions offer a lot of words, but no actions to fighters, so maybe some fighters feel justified in taking a better deal.
I’m a fan, want to see good fights, enjoy having a selection of different promotions to go see, plus different fighters to watch. I don’t lose anything in this at all. I guess it’s other promoters who may be feeling some of this, but so far I don’t see any of them talking about this new guy, unless they are posting above anonymously. DiLorenzo is the only one so far to speak up, and use his real name, and he wasn’t putting them down.
JUST TO BE CLEAR, WHAT I’M ABOUT TO TYPE IS STRICTLY TALKING POINTS AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH XCFL OR THE SITUATION BEING TALKED ABOUT ABOVE. I’M NOT TAKING SIDES AT ALL.
I guess it depends on where you stand on this one. I hear talk of stealing fights and stealing advertised fights, or stealing a fighter and not a fight…my question is, what’s the difference?
For example, if I have two guys who have agreed to fight on a specific date, but haven’t officially gone public with it, is it ok for someone else to call the fighters and ask them to fight? Sure it is…we all use the same guys, and if they aren’t under contract, it’s fair game, right? However, when those fighters say “I’ve already committed to XX Promoter to fight Joe Shithead on XX date.” and the promoter follows up with “well did you sign the contract yet? I’ll pay you more to do it on my show.” Is that a shitty move? I guess it depends on which side of it you’re on.
To take it a step further, if I have a fight booked and I’ve already started promoting it, and someone calls those fighters and says “I see you’re fighting on XX promotions, but I’ll pay you more if you fight for me instead.” Is that worse than what I wrote above? I think so, but that’s just my opinion.
But what happens when a particular fight is booked by one promoter, but it doesn’t happen for some reason…an injury, perhaps. Because that promoter booked the fight and promoted it at one point, does he own it forever? For example, I remember a while back Josh Watson was supposed to fight Josh Diekmann for untamed but it didn’t happen for some reason. Am I an asshole if I try to set that up now? I don’t think so, but some might…is it ok now because so much time has passed? But what if I tried to set it up right after the injured fighter is healthy? Is that a shady thing to do? What happens if I don’t try to steal the whole fight, and just call one of the guys to fight on my next show. Like, if it was Diekmann who was hurt, and I call Watson and offer him a fight. Do both guys owe untamed their next fight? do both guys owe that particular fight to untamed? What if untamed doesn’t have an upcoming card, or what if they’d prefer to fight for a different promoter for various reasons?
Now does all of this change when it’s the fighters who make the call to the promoter? I’ve had guys call me and say things like “I was offered a fight with Joe Shithead for XX promotions, and I want to fight Joe, but (insert excuse here…maybe it’s they don’t like XX promotions, or the event is too far away from their house so their ticket sales and fight purse will be too small, or maybe the date doesn’t work for them, or the pay is too low) so I’m hoping you can get me the same fight on your event because it works better for me.”
As a matchmaker, am I supposed to refuse to set up a fight someone else offered but never accepted? Am I supposed to call XX Promoter and say “just to let you know, Joe Blow called me asking if he could fight Joe Shithead on my show instead of yours because it’s in his home town (or because he doesn’t like you, or because my date fits his schedule), but I didn’t book it because I heard you were trying to.
Personally, if someone took one of my fights, I’d be upset but it happens all the time. I lose a guy or two every show to another promotion…and while it’s frustrating, ultimately I look more at the fighters than the rival promoter. We are all trying to be the best show around and be the #1 choice among fighters, and if someone would rather fight for someone else, how do I get mad at the promoter? Is he a dick because his fight is on a date that works better for a particular fighter, or because he’s willing to pay a little more than me? again, I guess it depends on which side of it you’re on.
I’ve seen guys out bid other promoters for a particular guy and call me all excited because they got their guy, then a week later they’re calling me talking about how the cock sucker promoter that they out bid for one guy just fucked them and “stole” another guy from their show. How is one guy right and one guy wrong when they both did the same thing?
and to add one more thing, I’ve had guys call me asking for a particular opponent and when I call that opponent, their camp laughs and says “you’re the 3rd guy to call me about that fight this week.” So the fighter didn’t bother to tell me that 2 other promoters are already trying to get that same fight…but the fighter wants to get the best deal for him, so he calls 3 shows and tries to play them against each other to get the highest possible money for the fight. I don’t blame the fighter for trying, and I don’t blame the guy who gives the guy the best deal.
hey rick give ken a shot at your 135 belt
In this day and age…the 21st century haven’t promotions heard of contracts to prevent this shit, why knock an organization because they have money to pay fighters what they should be getting paid, I heard one fight in particular and it may or not be one of the fights this post is disputing but on another show the kid in reference was getting 400 / 400 this is a weathered veteran with solid wins over top opponents and also holds a belt and hes making that. Thats disgusting and granted we don’t do this for the money but when you put the time and effort in and have been doing so for a very long period of time there has to be compensation no matter what way you cut it. And for this fighter in particular I think a promoter should be ashamed taking advantage of him this way. Names will be named down the line but for the time being I care not to put peoples shit out there
Im glad to see some good conversation going on here rather than just bashing. In a nut shell I think (I think) because we use the same pot of fighters this stuff will always go on like Rick said. We send out contracts to every fighter that had agreed to fight and accept the purse offered. Then we end up chasing to get that contract returned back to us, maybe they hold it for a better deal like some are suggesting, who knows. Threat the other promoters with respect, don’t knowingly try to steal and respect the fighters and fans and the rest will fall into place. Last year we put on 8 shows which i think is a lot – We might not be the biggest and I know we can’t make everyone happy all the time but the intention is to. I got to work with some, not many of the other promoters in the area and enjoyed my experience with them with no problems. No in saying that, are some maybe out to hurt another or make them look bad?? I don’t know but I think in time the track record you develop will tell your story one way or the other. As far as pay – I see the under card on wec and ufc shows and some are as little as 1500/1500. what the fighter brings to the table needs to be a factor, esp on shows here in New England if your not the UFC…… I’d like to see all the fighters get paid double, the work hard, we all know that, But it’s not free to put a show on either. Now with the commission iy will cost much more with the bond, high ins needed, the ticket counter standing their with you, meds will be more, etc..
Treat the other promoters, not threat!!! oops !! Sorry – My f’in spelling!
Hello! My name is Brian Gillespie, I Co-Own The Combat Sports Agency, and I wanted to say a few things about the XCFL and the rumors circulating about them. First, however, I want to update everyone on the TV show I posted about a few months back. I am very happy to say that it has gone out for its first round of pitches to networks like Spike, Discovery, The History Channel, and a few others. This week it will be heading to TLC and Versus then finally to a couple more smaller networks nobody will really care about. So far we’ve received great feedback and a lot of interest so we shall see what happens. I’d like to thank all of the fighters, trainers, coaches, and family members that welcomed our cameras into their lives. At the end of the day I feel really good about this and I am thinking we will be able to do what we set out to do: give some of you fighters another vehicle to showcase your talents! With a little luck maybe somebody higher up the food chain sees you and you get the call of a lifetime! If you didn’t get you info to me don’t worry and if I have not contacted you again do not worry. From day 1 (about a year ago) this show has been all about offering some talented kids a chance to promote themselves another way.
Now regarding all this XCFL talk that has been going on, again this is just my two cents. I have to be honest; I find some of the stuff I’ve been reading online and hearing kind of funny. I’ve been doing this long enough that I have had promoters lie to me and my fighters; managers try to steal my fighters; fighters leave me to sign with others only to call me back and ask me to get them out of the very contracts they left me to sign; and that only scratches the surface! I have been promised everything under the sun for my guys and, to be completely honest, I’ve been less then impressed with the value of some peoples “word” in this industry.
So last week I met with Donny Mustapha and David Diamond from the XCFL to discuss our fighter, Tateki Matsuda (Wed night to be exact). I went in expecting the unexpected, what I heard was not unlike what I have heard in the past: big show, we care about fighters, yada yada yada. Here is what I can say: David was interested in getting Tateki on his card and was willing to give him a no strings attached sign-on bonus; Donny promised me he would find Tateki a fight (for anyone who has been a matchmaker this is not a very easy thing to do); Donny and David told me they would put together a promotional day for Tateki; and so we worked a deal for 1 fight on a hand shake.
Now any of my fighters will tell you if I say I’m going to do something, I do it. From getting TV deals to getting big money fights on bigger stages (around 24k for 3 fights for 1 of our guys and no it is not a local promotion) I always do what I say I am going to do; so the least I could do is allow Donny and David the chance to do what they said they would do. What happened has actually been a pretty nice surprise: Donny got Tateki a fight; David gave him a sign on bonus that night; and when we showed up for the promo’s everything went exactly as they said it would.
My experience with the XCFL, so far, has been great! From how good looking the ring girls were to how we should expect a few bugs to be worked out, Donny and David have been right on the money. David and I talked about some of the things that have been said about him and his league; I’m not sure if he was worried or not that I may have read or heard some things but I cut him short to simply say, “David either you will turn out to be legit or you will not and that is up to you.” See I don’t listen to the promises anymore; I don’t listen to the self promoting marketing machines; I simply sit back and see if what is promised is what is delivered…and in this case they delivered exactly what they promised. Now this whole thing about the XCFL stealing fights; their card is this or that; “they are just throwing money around BS” that I have heard and read is beyond silly. At the end of the day they want to make money, what promotion doesn’t? As a Manager of some of the greatest kids in this area I welcome a new promotion as it gives our fighters more opportunity to showcase their talents. As a fan I also welcome new promotions because it will give me a chance to see even more shows a year and see more fighters that perhaps I would not have a chance to see. Honestly, what fight promotion has not gone without taking a few lumps online? What new promotion has not been accused of signing fighters in “shady” manners? What fight promotion hasn’t been accused of stealing fighters and what promotion hasn’t been doomed to fail in the first year by the so called “fans” or so called “experts”? and for the most part they are all still here
So, in my opinion, we shall see what happens with the XCFL but thus far they have done exactly what they said they would do and since I am in the business of doing what is best for my fighters that is good enough for me. As for whether or not you really believe in the phrase so many throw around “we care about the fighters”; well either you do or you don’t! While a new promotion with what appears to be a healthy bankroll and great expectations of themselves may not be good for some of the other fight promotions in the area it is certainly good for the fighters and their camps and isn’t that what the sport is suppose to be about? I hope they do well as I hope all the fight promotions do well because I honestly believe that it is good for the fighters, good for the fans, and good for the sport. Thanks for “hearing” me out.
BG
CSA