jluchau
08-07-2007, 10:52 AM
Sentinel Sports Reporter Jeremy Luchau is training to be a mixed martial artist, a project which will end with a bout in the Palace Fighting Championship at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in October. His column appears every second Tuesday.
Sponsors are vital to MMA success
"I'd like to thank..."
Then comes a long list of names that most of your average mixed martial arts fans really don't care about.
But oh how important those sponsors are to a fighter.
"Sponsors are huge to have, because not only does it help out the fighters, but it increases the hype on MMA and increases the fan base for the sport," said Fresno fighter and Palace Fighting Championship regular Casey Olson.
"People want to be a part of something and this is the fastest-growing sport right now. Because of sponsors, the sport is growing twice as fast and fighters are getting acknowledged more, which is what they deserve," Olson added.
Most fighters might not even be able to compete if it were not for sponsors.
I know in my case, if the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, Valley Fight Club, VQ Fitness, Supplement Direct and J-Live Entertainment wouldn't have stepped up early in this process, there would be no "Project."
"I've had some good feedback from the community working with you," said Supplement Direct manager Inez Rodriguez. "People are reading the columns and they're seeing that you've achieved your goals. This is a big benefit to me. Money wise right now it's not a huge change, but a lot of people are coming in and asking questions."
And I think that it would pay off if I had some more local businesses in my corner. There's still plenty of time left to be part of the team.
There's so much that a fighter needs, from training clothing and shoes to supplements. You need equipment and costly training and travel expenses and promotional items.
"The 'Catch-22' to making it as a pro fighter is that it doesn't pay a lot when you start and usually doesn't pay a lot for many, many years... But it requires constant training practically all day. The lifestyle is a 'catch 22' as in that really in order to be successful you have to train all the time and that doesn't leave you time to work," said Palace entertainment director Christian Printup.
"You won't have that time to work to pay for rent, clothes, gas or any necessities in life that a normal 9-to-5 job would allow you to take care of. As a fighter, you have to go to work every day and not know when that next paycheck is going to come or where it is going to come from."
The fight game is an expensive one and can take its toll in a hurry, especially if you have a family.
"Sponsors play a role in that they help offset living expenses for fighters and help them expend that level of energy needed for training and not have to worry about having to figure out how they're going to get the necessities of life," Printup said.
"Sponsors are vital to this sport and very hard to come by. It's easy for a business to associate with someone successful, but it's hard to find that business that's going to see the potential in a fighter and at the same time see that that fighter can help their business grow.
"Those are the types of sponsors that relationships are built on that last a career and transcend beyond fighting in the ring."
And I need some similar help as time is starting to tick away until Oct. 18.
"I think that really to sponsor someone like you or other local fighters is a huge benefit to a lot of small businesses and locally owned businesses," Rodriguez said.
If your business might be interested in taking part in "The Project" and becoming a member of the team, you can contact me by email (jluchau@HanfordSentinel.com). I have sponsorship packages available and ready to distribute to interested businesses.
The sports reporter can be reached at jluchau@HanfordSentinel.com or 582-0471, ext. 3055.
Sponsors are vital to MMA success
"I'd like to thank..."
Then comes a long list of names that most of your average mixed martial arts fans really don't care about.
But oh how important those sponsors are to a fighter.
"Sponsors are huge to have, because not only does it help out the fighters, but it increases the hype on MMA and increases the fan base for the sport," said Fresno fighter and Palace Fighting Championship regular Casey Olson.
"People want to be a part of something and this is the fastest-growing sport right now. Because of sponsors, the sport is growing twice as fast and fighters are getting acknowledged more, which is what they deserve," Olson added.
Most fighters might not even be able to compete if it were not for sponsors.
I know in my case, if the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, Valley Fight Club, VQ Fitness, Supplement Direct and J-Live Entertainment wouldn't have stepped up early in this process, there would be no "Project."
"I've had some good feedback from the community working with you," said Supplement Direct manager Inez Rodriguez. "People are reading the columns and they're seeing that you've achieved your goals. This is a big benefit to me. Money wise right now it's not a huge change, but a lot of people are coming in and asking questions."
And I think that it would pay off if I had some more local businesses in my corner. There's still plenty of time left to be part of the team.
There's so much that a fighter needs, from training clothing and shoes to supplements. You need equipment and costly training and travel expenses and promotional items.
"The 'Catch-22' to making it as a pro fighter is that it doesn't pay a lot when you start and usually doesn't pay a lot for many, many years... But it requires constant training practically all day. The lifestyle is a 'catch 22' as in that really in order to be successful you have to train all the time and that doesn't leave you time to work," said Palace entertainment director Christian Printup.
"You won't have that time to work to pay for rent, clothes, gas or any necessities in life that a normal 9-to-5 job would allow you to take care of. As a fighter, you have to go to work every day and not know when that next paycheck is going to come or where it is going to come from."
The fight game is an expensive one and can take its toll in a hurry, especially if you have a family.
"Sponsors play a role in that they help offset living expenses for fighters and help them expend that level of energy needed for training and not have to worry about having to figure out how they're going to get the necessities of life," Printup said.
"Sponsors are vital to this sport and very hard to come by. It's easy for a business to associate with someone successful, but it's hard to find that business that's going to see the potential in a fighter and at the same time see that that fighter can help their business grow.
"Those are the types of sponsors that relationships are built on that last a career and transcend beyond fighting in the ring."
And I need some similar help as time is starting to tick away until Oct. 18.
"I think that really to sponsor someone like you or other local fighters is a huge benefit to a lot of small businesses and locally owned businesses," Rodriguez said.
If your business might be interested in taking part in "The Project" and becoming a member of the team, you can contact me by email (jluchau@HanfordSentinel.com). I have sponsorship packages available and ready to distribute to interested businesses.
The sports reporter can be reached at jluchau@HanfordSentinel.com or 582-0471, ext. 3055.