By: Rich Bergeron
Stephen Andrews is an investor in a revolutionary platform that helps fighters, managers, and promoters streamline their business relationships. MMAXM (
http://www.mmaxm.com/) is already carving out a nice niche for itself in the sport of MMA with a stable of 154 fighters and 12 major promoters.
Andrews started training recreationally in MMA back in 1998. He began hearing a few horror stories from fighters about how hard it was for them to get assigned a match. Others complained about not getting paid. Teaming up with a top-notch software designer, Andrews set out to help make the sport of mixed martial arts “more efficient as a marketplace.” He also enlisted Wade Hampel, who manages UFC Fighter Charles Oliveira.
“We came up with the idea of creating an e-commerce system where promoters could post fights, and managers and fighters could then respond to requests for fights and negotiate fees and everything else,” said Andrews.
Putting it all on the Internet and utilizing SMS technology to alert their stable of over 150 fighters and counting, the design of the new enterprise is revolutionary in the manner it protects and benefits all parties involved in the process. The fighter and/or manager looks at the contract and then negotiates with the promoter for travel expenses and other considerations. There are also plans to have the option for promoters to put money in escrow to guarantee the agreement once it becomes final.
“We want to make sure there is a legal way to get paid by having it done through the system,” explains Andrews. “I also think there’s potential for getting fighters sponsorship deals through the system as well. I know how hard it is for fighters to get sponsorships. They’re getting a hundred bucks here or a hundred bucks there, and it’s really awful.”
Anyone who wants to get involved can go to the site and register for free as a manager, promoter, or fighter, Andrews adds. Fighters are asked to create their own profiles with their fight records, fight videos, and other pertinent information. As soon as they sign up they begin getting text messages about available fights offered through the system.
“We’re just trying to make everything more transparent so that people can actually know about the fights that are happening and actually on their phones negotiate with that and get themselves into a fight,” said Andrews. He is also hoping to work with amateur fighters through the system as well.
Another aspect of the system Andrews hopes to develop in the future is a way to show how many tickets fighters can typically sell. Regional promoters often rely on a fighter’s ability to put fans in the seats for their fights. Andrews explained that ex-UFC Fighter Tim Hague is so great at selling tickets in his post-big-show career that he now makes more money in the Canadian MMA circles than he made while in the UFC.
The vision for the future of MMAXM is having the system be the old standby method of operation for promoters to plan their fight cards with. Andrews would like to see everything from blood work and licensing paperwork uploaded into the system to create a working database that could become a crucial tool in fight promotion and fighter/manager/promoter negotiations. Andrews hopes one of the regional promotions will come on as a part owner to help realize the dream of making MMAXM a one stop shop for promoters, managers, and fighters across the world.
The MMAXM model is also an equal opportunity enterprise as far as embracing women fighters. They recently signed on with Invicta, an organization looking to promote all female fight cards in the sport of MMA. Andrews hopes to recruit as many women fighters as possible to add to the current stable of about 15 ladies signed up.
Looking toward the future of the sport of MMA, Andrews predicts it will become “more global,” especially with the UFC expanding and holding more shows overseas. “I just don’t know where it’s going to go with the money,” he adds. “The UFC is just such an 800 pound gorilla. I don’t know how all these other promotions can get as much money in and pay the fighters more.”
There’s only one downside of extra competition in the marketplace Andrews fears. If one or two promotions seek out and acquire all the best non-UFC fighters available, the possibility of making the best fights happen could be minimized. As it is, there are multiple local and regional promotions competing with national and global entities in the sport, and all of them can benefit from the model MMAXM is trying to be the standard bearer for. The networking and streamlining available through the site’s tools and general setup can at least help smaller promotions formulate better cards. The promotions working with MMAXM can also keep their fighters happy by using a system where they don’t have to worry about training and fighting only to find out they won’t get a paycheck after all is said and done. It should also help fighters who may not be able to get a manager on board to help them out. The site and the concept could truly revolutionize the sport of MMA if it really catches on in a big way.
Stop by
http://www.mmaxm.com/ to learn more about this new and exciting MMA business platform.
