|
|
|
|
Spirit MMA
28 Jul 2010
By Chris Shanks
MMA Hit Pit had the chance to sit down with Chris Hayat of Spirit MMA to find out more about his new promotion and where he hopes to take it.
Hey Chris so tell us what is Spirit MMA and what do you hope to achieve?
We are a new promotion who hope to showcase the best of British Mixed Martial Arts. The word Spirit comes from the Latin word Spiritus which means to breath and this is what we are about. We feel that the best competition comes from fighters who live, eat, sleep and breath mixed martial arts and that’s who we want on our shows. We’re a company who’ll give a safe and professional platform for dedicated athletes of all levels to compete in the greatest sport in the world. If we can achieve this whilst drawing in new fans to the sport and educating the general public, we’ll have done something right.
With there being so many promotions in the UK at the moment what makes the promotion stand out?
There are a lot of promotions in the UK and I know that this is a point which has been bought up a lot recently. Hopefully our shows will speak for themselves, we’re not expecting to be the next UFC and it would be unrealistic to think that we could be because they are the originals. We’ll put on shows to the best of our means, give MMA fans the fights they want to see and support the athletes. We’ll do what we can and to the best of our ability and if we do that then we should stand out anyway – this isn’t about the money or jumping on any band wagon so to speak. We just want to do what’s best for the sport – I can’t see any reason why MMA can’t be the national sport of Britain.
Do you think you will find it difficult to break into the market?
Yes is the short answer, but it’s not impossible. So far we’ve been privileged to have support from the ISKA and the MMA community who have been a real help and given us guidance. We’re not here to put down other promoters and make arrogant claims, we’re just going to do our thing. If the fighters like working with us and people keep coming to our shows then I can’t see why we can’t do well and earn a good reputation.
It has been said for many years that fighters make events, how can you convince fighters to work with this new promotion?
One of the things that we want to achieve is getting rid of the myths behind MMA in the public, a lot of people associate cage fighting with blood sport which is a discredit to the athletes. Anyone who trains in a variety of martial arts, studies the techniques involved and is fit enough to be able to compete shouldn’t be thought of in a negative way. The guys that make the sacrifices and put the time in should be given the respect they deserve and that’s what we’ll do, anyone from any level of MMA is welcome to come and fight with Spirit MMA and we’ll look after them.
Your first event in on September 25th, Talk to us a little about the planning that goes into an event and especially from the point of view of a new promotion. Have you come across any stumbling blocks and if so, how have you overcome them?
Like I said before, we’ve had a lot of support which I can’t tell you how much it’s made a difference. So far there hasn’t been any stumbling blocks but its early days yet unless you count going head to head with BAMMA 4! Other than that, no major issues which is a blessing but I’m not holding my breath as I’m sure there will be plenty in store in the coming weeks.
Thanks Chris
Spirit MMA: Fight Night takes place on 25th Sept in Sleaford, for more info check out their website HERE
|
|
|
|