With Strikeforce an example, regional promoters walk a fine line

The San Jose, Calif.-based Strikeforce focused on building fighters in the Bay Area. Other regional promotions are following suit. AP Josh Gross's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Josh. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

If last week's tussle between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and athletic regulators in Quebec meant anything at all it was this: for as far as mixed martial arts has come in terms of pop culture acceptance and revenues generated, the controversial-when-convenient sport continues to face serious, ignorant opposition on certain parts of the globe.

There are, of course, fewer pockets of dissension today than just five years ago, but entrenched resistance, even in North America, is cause for concern. While much of the battle over MMA regulation has been waged with UFC acting as the tip of the spear, there are locales where the sport's top promotional company has not and probably will not touch. Continued education, for good or bad, then falls to local promoters.

From Fairfax, Va., to Knoxville, Tenn., to just outside Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, promoters -- some with a long history and others hoping to be remembered down the road -- will attempt, as the UFC heads overseas this weekend, to deliver quality events, well-matched fights, and the kind of bang-for-your-buck experience that makes MMA a viable choice for consumers on the regional level.

If UFC-fostered conditions made MMA generally palatable and profitable, promoters such as Mark Pavelich, S. Marcello Foran, John Prisco and Reed Wallace view the current climate as not only an opportunity to carve out specific niches, but also a chance to move beyond those someday.

"How often in life do you get to be a part of history?" pondered Foran, the promoter behind Saturday's Ultimate Warrior Challenge card at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University. "How often do you get to, say 20 or 30 years from now, look back and say you had some impact, no matter how big or small, I played a role in something that's happening for the first time in history."

Some may be more ambitious than others, but it's hardly a coincidence that events in the eastern half of the U.S. have intensely grown in recent years. Cards cutting a swath up and down the west coast, or focusing in the fighter rich Midwest, used to dominate regional MMA. Emerging markets, also stocked with hungry athletes, needed quality promoters, and nowhere was that more true than the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

For promoters, there's no such thing as a shortage of fighters. Ken Pavia, whose MMA Agents group manages an ever-expanding client roster, placed fighters in 35 different organizations in eight countries last year, many of them in a designated "regional" -- or feeder, upstart, even minor league -- role. Fighters can survive financially on this level, Pavia said, but generally only if they possess a "major circuit pedigree."

Reputations are earned quickly in the fight promotion business. One cancelled date or bounced check, booked rooms in shoddy hotels or poor communication between the promoter and fighter can ruin an organization in what has quickly become a highly competitive climate.

And old benchmarks hardly work in identifying a promoter's worth these days. Virtually everyone seems to possess a broadcast partner, as networks and video streaming companies clamor to bring 18-to-34-year-old sets of eyes to advertisers and sponsors.

Moran's UWC, headlined by a bantamweight title fight between former WEC champ Chase Beebe and Mike Easton, will be streamed live on Sherdog.com Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Prisco and his Tampa, Fla.-based Xtreme Fighting Championship host Tennessee's first professional card in Knoxville at the Thompson-Boling Arena Friday, and is scheduled to debut live on HDNet in April. Wallace, looking for global distribution of his small Revolution Fighting Championship, is distributing Florida's first state-sanctioned title via Web pay-per-view while focusing on Hispanic-centered marketing. Long-established in Ontario, Canada, Pavelich has talked about a foray into the U.S. for MFC as his TV partnership with HDNet exports his product to the world.

"Obviously there are many regional promotions and new ones popping up every day," said HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon. "But I think some of the regional players that have been in business for a long time have found a way to make money in this sport, and a way to bring up new athletes. The ones that have done it right are still thriving and surviving."

Simon would know. Oregon's Sportfight, promoted by Matt Lindland, showcased some of the Pacific Northwest's toughest prospects on the premium television network. Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat in Atlantic City did the same for fighters in the Northeast. Adrenaline, a Monte Cox-promoted event in the middle of the country, also gained exposure on HDNet, which has made MMA a centerpiece of its programming.

On Friday (HDNet, 10 p.m. ET) near Edmonton at the River Cree Resort and Casino, Pavelich's Maximum Fighting Championship takes place for the 20th time. Though the successful son of Hall of Fame Hockey referee Matt Pavelich doesn't think of himself as a regional promoter, Pavelich has managed to create local stars --just as Scott Coker's San Jose, Calif.-based Strikeforce focused on building fighters in the Bay Area -- such as Ryan Ford, who seemingly compel Edmonton fight fans to shell out as much as $650 for a ringside seat.

"When I hear regional I think provincial," said Pavelich, whose event features Ford in a rematch against Pat Healy, and a quality welterweight bout between Nick Thompson and Paul Daley. "It has that kind of mentality attached to it. The way we do things and the way we sold-out so many shows, our high ticket price, being on HDNet, there's no question we're the biggest show in this country, let alone one of three to four shows in the world probably making real money in mixed martial arts."

Regional in this case means specific to one area, and Pavelich has built a business model that works in this environment. His event has provided a venue for fighters to gain experience before moving to a more prominent stage. He has negotiated a site-fee from the local casino that hosts his events. And while he may not like calling himself a regional promoter, that's pretty much how he's operated -- though not anymore, said the bombastic fight "pioneer."

"For a while (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva would call me and say he we want Ryan Ford to fight tomorrow," said Pavelich, who helped put middleweight Jason MacDonald in the UFC. "Joe Silva says that to me now, I say no way. I'm nobody's farm team. I'll never be that. It's not in my DNA. I don't have that mentality. I couldn't even understand it. I was letting myself do that all these years."

There is a fine line for these promoters. Carving out a niche, surviving, even thriving, works wonders for the bottom line. Yet expansion creates a risk-reward proposition. If Coker and Strikeforce can do it, Pavelich, Foran, Prisco, Wallace and countless others believe they will as well. At the very least, each understands they have an obligation to educate fans, media and regulators about the sport. And as long as the money and opportunity are there, it seems they will.