That the best ideas are often the simplest is something of a cliche but that still doesn’t lessen the surprise when somebody steps forward and fill a gap in the market that you had barely noticed existed. Amid all the hype surrounding the various UFC Fan Expos and the legion of independent mixed martial arts conventions there was something. While the events were great in of themselves they were all focused on the same market; fans looking for fighter autographs or to buy the latest Tapout T-Shirt or UFC DVD. If you were looking for something a bit more than star-spotting or shopping you were flat out of luck.
That’s where Mike Hauben stepped in. Having been involved in mixed martial arts for over a decade he knew that something was missing. He recently explained to me that his experience of attending and organising trade expos in other industries alerted him to the need to do something similar in MMA. Whereas he would attend non-MMA trade expos and find them to “phenomonal” due to the new techniques he would learn he would find himself frustrated by MMA expos, explaining that “for a casual fan they’re great as you can go and buy a t-shirt and get a autograph but if you’re a businessman they over nothing”. He realised that there was a gap in the market, that MMA needed a “real trade show”.
This weekend’s Fight Summit builds on that original insight, with Haulben’s pitch for the event being very clear, telling me that it will be “three days of tremendous education…whatever you’re trying to do in the industry our seminars and our event are designed to help you grow and succeed”. And the schedule is designed to cover the very breadth and depth of the industry, Haulben explains that on the sports side there will be seminars for fighters including a general MMA one led by UFC fighter Cole Miller and a wrestling seminar led by BJ Penn coach Randy Johnson. Attendees will also get to hear from Hall of Famer Randy Couture how he’s managed to prolong his career to the remarkable age of 47 when he delivers a seminar on durability and nutrition. Additionally, they’ll be “a ton of trainers speaking about how to train fighters and motivate them” including legendary coaches such as Greg Jackson and John Hackleman.
But in many ways its the “business side of the sport” that the Fight Summit excells, with Haulben explaining “that there’s seminars all over the place about jiu-jitsu or striking, but nobody sits down and explains how you go out and create opportunities for yourself”. Haulben believes that the event’s agenda will help develop fighters understanding of how to promote themselves, how to find sponsorship and sell themselves commercially. While most fighters want to leave that sort of stuff to their manager, Haulben explains that “the more you know yourself the more equipped you are to know what your manager is doing…and of course some fighters cannot afford managers”.
On the subject of managers, Fight Summit has talks from some of the best with the likes of Ed Soares and Monte Cox talking in seminars designed to help asipring managers learn more about what it means to represent a fighter. The same support is offered to those working in ancilliary industries, trying to provide services to MMA fighters and fans with sessions designed to provide expert advice on how to develop fight clothing lines, run a MMA gym or cover the sport as a journalist.When asked whether it was hard to get put together such a diverse and deep lineup, he admits that some were wary as “mma is very cut throat, very hard to find people who are willing to help you…most people aren’t willing to reveal what makes them successful as they view you as competition”. But luckily, Haulben was able to identify those that were willing to reveal their trade secrets in a bid to “teach and mentor the newer guys in the industry”.
Talking to Mike Haulben and looking at the agenda for the event one has to conclude that the Fight Summit covers all bases, as he firmly says as we finish talking “ticket prices are $399, so for 400 bucks you could learn from the absolute best from the industry, see where the business side of the sport is heading, I think it’s a no brainer – for 400 bucks you grow your business by learning the secrets from the absolute best in the industry’.
Fight Summit takes place from Friday 17th December to Sunday 19th December at The Flamingo in Las Vegas. Tickets can be purchased from http://www.fightsummit.com/.
