Promoting MMA Not as Easy as It Looks

Many people see fight cards scheduled and don't see the work that is put in behind the scenes.

Most have not heard of the Midwestern Fighting Alliance. It is a small promotion I started working for a little over a month ago. We put on amateur and professional fights. The next card was set for Feb. 28 in Detroit with all amateur fights.

At the time the fight card was in place, we were just looking for a couple fighters to replace those who had backed out or had been injured.

We were booking bands to perform live at the card. We had the fights overbooked in case more fighters backed out or were injured. The main event was a fight for the middleweight No. 1 contender spot.

Our focus was now on getting the word out about the event. We would go to gyms and put up posters, leave stacks of small flyers at gas stations and convenience stores. The stacks would be taken within a few days and we would leave more that would soon be gone.

As the card approached, a few more fighters were injured and a few fighters backed out for other reasons. We added a no-gi grappling tournament to be included in the event.  Dan "The Beast" Severn was scheduled to host the event.

Even though we had a few issues, it looked like the event was set to be a hit.

Until the day of the event that morning, my boss, the owner of the promotion, received several calls from fighters who said they were too injured to compete. As a result the venue backed out and the event was cancelled.

For us it was a major let down we were looking at what we thought would be a great event and at the last second it was cancelled.

We are currently working on rescheduling the Detroit event and are working on putting together an event in Indiana for June.

The June event will have MMA fights, a jui-jitsu tournement, and exhibition kickboxing. We are looking for both professionals and amateurs. If you or any one you know would be interested in competing, let me know.