FINDING A MANAGER

Fighters looking for a manager seems like an everyday occurance.   I don't think a day goes by where a fighter or a friend of a fighter inquires if we would manage them or if we know of a good manager.   There are some guide lines that can help and save a lot of time and trouble.

So many guys turn pro - win a couple fights on a small promotion and realize the need for somebody out there working for them and moving them up the ladder of success.  There are 100's of guys striving for the top positions wanting to get to the big show and make their living as a pro fighter.  A good and honorable dream to have.  As we all know not everybody makes it.  Most do not, but if this is the dream - everything that can possibly be done should be done and taking it as far as one can and calling it good and going from there.

A decent manager will book fights, find sponsors and endorsements, help with training camps, find fight deals with promotions that market the fighters well.  So a manager needs to have strong ties in the fight world and be able to look after the fighters interest above his own as far as business is concerned.  With all that being said - how many fighters really need a manager at the early stages in their career?  The fighters job is to perform an market themselves in a way that you NEED a manager.  Managers need more than a warm body that shadow boxes - your manager needs to market and promote you.   As I have said many times we are in a very tuff business - if you as the fighter thinks because you have won a couple fights and all your homies think you the greatest fighter that has yet to be discovered - you don't need a manager - you need a promoter to market you to the masses.  When the masses think you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, then you need a manager.  A good manager will find you.  So if you are out there beating the streets looking for a good manager you probably don't need one yet - you are putting the cart before the horse.  At this stage of the game you are better off working with your gym and trainers who usually have people or are themselves qualified to manage your career.  The better you are as a fighter,as a pro athlete you can propel your own people into good management for you.  They are already invested in you, they probably care for you as a human being and you are part of their MMA family.  If you don't have this maybe find a gym or team that does or combine your people with their people and become stronger as a group.

 I have a news flash - fighters make managers in many cases not the other way around.  If you as the fighter are very loyal, strong character and good work ethic you can find people in the business with the same attributes and you will compliment each other.  Most good managers don't set out to be managers - they evolve with the business of MMA.  MMA is very new and we don't really have managers that have followed a legacy left by the people before them.  Now if you are a rising star and you seriously need good management because you have lots of offers coming in and want to take the best path possible then its good to find somebody with strong connections not only in MMA but the international community, somebody who has many friends.  The MMA world is still relatively small and it is very much who you know.  People like to work with people they know and like and trust, this will go farther than just a manager with talent that wants to make a buck off you.   I know I'm going to get hammered for this statement but many well known managers are managers because they want to be famous.  They put all their efforts into building up themselves.  Sure they will do a lot for you as a fighter but their motives are not to help you - the better they do for you the better it is for them.  They will get in the ring after your fight and make sure they are in every picture, they will do interviews on your behalf, they will promote themselves behind your accomplishments and when things get stressed and they will get stressed they will tell you that without them you are nothing and you owe them everything - which is doodliesquat.  You need each other and you are the one getting pummeled in the face.  The best manager/fighter relationship is exactly that a relationship - you need each other, you work together, your manager has the desire to see you successful and you have the desire to see your manager successful.   Now your doing something!!!!!

FIGHTING

FINDING A DREAM GYM

 

How does a guy go about finding a gym that can take him to where his dream is demanding?

Whether he or she wants to make a run for the top or compete in amateurs or just get in shape and be a body for the other competitors - you need family and friends who will not get jealous because you are doing what they will not.

I can say for certain at our gym fighters come and fighters go, some gyms are great at grappling and some at striking, some at boxing some at Muay Thai, some are connected in high places some couldn't make a fight to save their life, but to be a successful fighter you need a TEAM. Not all fighters are blessed with that luxury, but one thing I know - if you don't have a gym that believes in your dream you are at the wrong gym!
 
I work for a very famous fighter and he had a dream. I believed not only in him, but his dream as well. He was a former world champion - so it was not a huge stretch I guess to believe in what he was doing as he has had much success in most of his endeavors. Even tho we have not reached the full vision of that dream as of yet - we have accomplished many other dreams along the way and even added a couple that are far greater than the one I jumped on board with. He is the one that taught me early on - fighters come and fighters go, MMA can be very difficult, there is so much to learn and so many ways to do things. One of the things we do best is we believe in the dreams of the men and women we train. We will do whatever it takes to see it to completion, we are not afraid to go for the very top prize, as we strive to be the best every day.
 
It all started with a dream and without that I don't think all the training in the world would matter much. It takes a lot of sacrifice to be a fighter, tons and tons of work, all the discipline a person can muster and then beat yourself down to gain more discipline and dedication like your life depends on it. That's how dreams come true and that's why many do not achieve them.
 
Many gyms are capable of bringing a young fighter to maturity, training them well and giving good value for their time and money, but only dream gyms will get behind you with all they have to achieve your dream, no matter how big or how small and if you can ever find a gym that will believe in you and your dream then that's your gym.
 
Who knows how many more AKA Lion Den's, America Top Teams, Greg Jackson Teams are out there if men and woman can remain faithful to their dreams and to each other, only the future will tell for certain. Let's hope we get to see them rise and support them when they do cuz most of them started with a dream!!!!!!!!

FIGHTING

WHO IS A "REAL" FIGHTER?

 

It has been awhile since I have written an article. Between training camps and shows the last couple months - haven't had much time. I do have a few observations if anybody cares to read them.

Seems to be a ton of guys trying MMA lately - I was careful not to say fighters because there is a difference between a guy practicing MMA and a fighter. I do give props to anyone who gets in the cage - it truly takes some heart. It can also take away a person's heart.

I am working with around 20 guys right now, out of the 20 maybe 4 are real fighters. The real fighters work, they live a fighters lifestyle, they enjoy a win maybe for a weekend and more often than not are very dissatisfied with their performance.

Now a guy practicing MMA will live as long as he possibly can in victory over a win, and not only are they happy with their most recent performance they will do a play by play of the fight to anybody and everybody who will listen for as long as they possibly can. They take their week off, maybe more if a rib hurts.

A fighter is back in the gym the following Monday trying to fix every mistake they made either real or imagined, they have no time for time off unless they are truly nursing an injury and even then often come back to soon. A real fighter at the amateur level wants every fight he can get his hands on, while a practitioner wants to see fight tape dating back as far as possible, wants to think about it a week, haggles over what weight the fight is going to be at and then wants to think about it some more. The real fighter many times has to be told "no - you are not fighting that guy, you are not ready", he gets mad and beats everyone of his sparring partners up and apologizes after, saying he was mad because I did not make that fight for him.

Now I am not by any means disrespecting the guy who is not there yet or will never be there, I am merely pointing out the difference, and anybody who has been in the fight game awhile - knows what I am talking about. I am sure you all are aware the American Pit Bull is the symbol for DogBoxer and the heart and courage they display. Now a dog is either born with heart or not, very black and white, but a human can choose - granted some have more naturally than others, but it still is a choice. Even though few make that choice anymore. We have bred a very soft and spoiled people these last couple of generations, but it is satisfying to see a young person come into the gym who chooses to and is determined to hone their skills and put themselves thru trial and tribulation until not only are the physical skills and the conditioning there but the heart and the courage to become a true warrior.

Sometimes these are the very ones who make it to the championship levels - by choosing to have heart, by observing how champions got to the levels they have gotten to and mimicking what they see. Champions begin with the end in mind, they see themselves as champions and then do what champions do to get there - even when the odds are against them. They are better off for it because it still gets them to the destination they are supposed to be at whatever that may be. It is thru the bad times, the struggles the trials of life that our character is built.

The people who constantly bob and weave away from this and always choose the path of least resistance are robbing themselves of the very things that I believe are put in our path to make us great, or at the very least better people, stronger people, people that wake up in the morning and try to matter to somebody or something.

These things not only build our character but they make us humble, able to help another and keep us from being so self centered we are not worth the led asprin it would take to put us out of our misery-- just saying.