Behind the Scenes at MMA Big Show

“Ninety-percent of [mixed martial arts] promoters in this country are working at a loss.”

MMA Big Show’s promoter, Jason Appleton, is a self-described “no bullshit kind of guy.”  At seven-feet tall, he sprawled across his lounger in his suburban Cincinnati home, spat dip into a plastic soda bottle, and told Fighters.com, “Anybody who thinks us promoters are making windfalls of cash are just are very, very ill-informed.  I lost thirty grand on my first show.  I lost over fifty grand on my second show!”

Appleton expects his 1 November show at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, south of Cincinnati, to be much more successful; but, putting on a successful MMA event is kind of like wriggling free from a gogoplata.

The next show, MMA Big Show’s fifth since 2006, is headlined by local talent, MMA Big Show Welterweight Champion “Relentless” Roger Bowling (3-0).

“Nobody knows this but you, right now.  Roger doesn’t even know,” Appleton revealed.

Bowling was scheduled to fight Team Bison’s “The Squeeze” Sam Morgan (19-12); but, Morgan had taken a shot to his ribs from “Bang” Duane Ludwig (17-8) in Denver the previous weekend at Strikeforce Payback.

Appleton explained, “I got a call this morning from his coach and he said, ‘Hey, man, I just want to give you a heads up.  We’ve got to have Sammy checked out by the doctor because we tried to put some pressure on his ribs and it looks like he’s in bad shape.’  So, they pulled out on me today.”

The Main Event

“The very first thing I do is set my main event,” Appleton explained.  “I have an idea from the beginning of what local I want as the main event.  The challenge is making sure I can find a guy for him that’s available, that’s a fair fight, that, you know…that kind of thing.”

For his last show in Belterra, south of Cincinnati, 10 May, Appleton matched Cincinnati middleweight “Mojo” William Horne (2-0) versus TUF 3 runner-up “Bring the Pain” Josh Haynes (11-10).  What do you know?  “Mojo” won!

Appleton fawns over his local boys, promising Horne and Bowling will be on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

“I’m always, especially now, looking for guys who have some UFC experience.  It’s good for tickets and it’s good for the locals because, you know, there are a lot of…Cincinnati is such a hot house for up-and-coming guys, man.  And, they’re all fighting for me.”

Even though Morgan bailed on the fight, Appleton promised emphatically, “[Bowling] is going to fight a UFC vet.  I’ve got six phone calls out and a bunch of emails out.  I’m going to have a replacement and it’s going to be a UFC vet regardless, only because there is so much stuff to market Roger fighting a UFC vet.”

Appleton is grudgingly familiar with fighters who bail on fights.

“If I want to put on a 15-fight card, I’ll schedule 20 fights,” he claimed.

On the undercard of the Horne v Haynes fight, Appleton had a fighter check out of his hotel room and disappear overnight after he got a look at his opponent at the weigh-ins the day before.

“During fight week, [my wife] and I try to guess how many twisted ankles we’re going to have,” Appleton joked, calling the no-shows “tough guys in TapOut gear.”

“Once I have my main event, everything else typically falls into place,” Appleton explained.    “I call around.  I figure out what my main event is going to be and then I confirm everything with the commission.”

The Commission

Appleton detailed a litany of expenses every promotion incurs when promoting a mixed martial arts event, then added, “Not to mention you have to pay 5% of your gate to the commissions, plus other commission fees.”

Based in Cincinnati, MMA Big Show promotes events in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

“Trying to keep up with the differences between one commission and the other when you’re living in a tri-state, you know, it gets pretty hairy,” Appleton complained.   “There’s a huge difference between the Kentucky commission and the Ohio commission.”

Indiana doesn’t have an athletic commission sanctioning MMA; but, Appleton assured Fighters.com that he runs his Indiana events as though there is a commission.

“There are so many rules, laws, and regulations it’s not even funny.   Kentucky is definitely more lenient than Ohio, in every way,” said Appleton.

But, as MMA gains greater exposure, things are changing in Kentucky.

“Back in the day, if I had a fight card, if a fighter dropped out, I could find a last minute replacement, if someone’s ready.  Now, I have to submit my fight card in advance.  If I have a fighter drop out, I lose the fight,” Appleton lamented.

The Venue

“I set the venue tentatively,” Appleton spat into his plastic bottle.  “I’ll call the different venues and I’ll say, ‘Look, I’m looking to do an event.  What are your available dates over the next four months?’  I try to make sure none of my events are competing with the UFC, obviously.”

Appleton’s last two events have been held at Belterra Casino.  The Casino doesn’t charge for the venue, but takes the concessions profits and hopes spectators file into the casino when MMA Big Show lets out.  But, for the promotions’ two-year anniversary 1 November, MMA Big Show will return to the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

“Every venue is different.  The Convention Center, I pay for absolutely everything,” Appleton  chuckled, then emphasized, “Absolutely everything!  They keep concessions.  Their big thing is that they’re not set-up for shows like mine.  I pay out the wazoo to do events at the Convention Center.  Not only are you paying for the venue, which is expensive.  Um…you’re paying for everything.  All of my staff, police, ushers…everything I’ve got to supply myself.  The convention center doesn’t help me with a thing.”

Recently, MMA Big Show inked a deal with U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, the venue the UFC used for UFC 77, for four events in 2009.  Appleton expects the U.S. Bank Arena to assist him with promoting, organizing, and marketing MMA Big Show.

The Bottom Line

“I don’t make money unless I sell tickets,” Appleton boiled it down.  “To be honest, without sponsorship money, you’re not going to be able to make a profit as a promoter,” then added, “We’ve had very little sponsorship support.”

MMA Big Show has a television deal with the local CW affiliate, but receives no revenue from the deal.   “It’s good advertising,” Appleton explained.

But, “A lot of it boils down to ticket sales.  If I’ve got a bunch of local amateurs, the local amateur who, maybe he sold 100 tickets, you know, to friends and family and whatever, well obviously he’s got a fan base who wants to see him fight.”

It seems like the best thing you can do as a fighter is sell tickets.

“Man, I’ve never seen anyone sell tickets like [lightweight title challenger Chad Hinton (1-0)].  I have 600 total V.I.P. tickets for the November show.  They’re $55 each.  And, he’ll have 200 of them sold by the end of this weekend.  And, he wants another 200 to sell, which will take him another week.  And, he’s got 100 general admission tickets and he said he’s going to want more of those too.”

But, with sponsorships, MMA still has hurdles to jump.

Appleton explained, “When I first started, I had a lot of companies who were sponsoring all kinds of stuff, but they didn’t want to sponsor MMA because they didn’t want blood on their logo.  You know, and it was like…It’s MMA!  You know what I mean?  You’re going to bleed.

“I’ve been through so many people who’ve come to me and said, ‘I could sell sponsorships.’  And, I’m like, ‘Great.  I’ll give you 20%.’  And, then you never hear from them again.”

Appleton added, “House of Pain has been a sponsor for a little while now.  They’ve been on my fight mat and they’ve been real helpful.  I’ve got Fight Fuel.  They’ve been on my fight mat most recently.  I’ve got some sponsors, but I’m always looking.  But, at the same time, I’m only one man.”