 He was late. I had a seven o’clock beer-and-chicken-wing appointment with S. Marcello Foran, the CEO of the Ultimate Warrior Sports Development-the parent company of upstart MMA promotion UWC - Ultimate Warrior Challenge. It was seven twenty and the two beers I’d downed weren’t doing my empty stomach any favors. My head, however, was considerably pleased.
The UWC had completed four successful shows, but it was just a week after the high profile demise of EliteXC and everyone in the sport was scrambling to make sure their decomposing body didn’t stink up their own operation. The Shaw family had proven once again that bad decisions and poor planning kills MMA dreams. EliteXC’s banishment to the promotion boneyard alongside BodogFight and the IFL was causing ripples throughout the industry, but if Foran was nervous about those developments when he arrived at the Fairfax, Virginia barbeque house, he didn’t show it.
“Everyone gets what’s coming to them,” he said sipping a cocktail. “You have to ask, where did they get their knowledge about doing MMA shows other than boxing? I don’t have all the answers, but I’m learning and evolving all the time, which is key to survival in this sport. Did they?”
Foran is a seasoned businessman who started and owns UltimateVIP International a VIP Luxury Lifestyle and Event Entertainment Company and presides over several other successful companies. That alone sets him apart from so many other promoters who get into MMA because they watch the sport or want to make a quick buck (do you hear me Calvin Ayre?). A native of the DC area, Foran has a friendship with MMA pioneer John Lewis, a co-founder of the now defunct WFA - World Fighting Alliance and former trainer of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He also has a kid brother Marcus Foran who’s a professional MMA fighter training with Greg Jackson in Alb, NM, so he was flanked by MMA in his personal life before he ever debated getting into the business. In 2006 Foran decided to jump into MMA and started UWC - Ultimate Warrior Challenge based in the Washington D.C. area, but without the Doctor Evil “I’m going to rule the world!” attitude.
Some people learn from success and others through abject failure. Savvy businessmen mix both and add a dash of historical lessons learned by others to make a recipe for success. Here’s the UWC’s recipe:
UWC rule #1-Start small and establish credibility. Sounds easy right? How many promotions have gone too big too early and survived? The UWC has no plans to branch out from the east coast this year and publicly states a simple desire to be the best show in the Washington DC – Mid Atlantic Region and possibly the east coast one day.
“The first show we did in Florida was like a ship in dry dock to see how to do it right and establish the show,” Foran says. “The first few events were all about establishing a level of expectation, developing the infrastructure, and getting credibility. We focused on taking care of the fighters, the trainers, and everyone so they leave there saying good things about us.”
It could have been easy for the UWC to let success go to their head attracting 5000 fans to their events. Early on Foran had a glimpse of grandeur that faded quickly and we should all be glad that it did.
“In the beginning we had plans to make a play for big name fighters like Fedor, Ortiz, and Couture but then Mark Cuban and Affliction came along. Looking back on it, though, I’m so glad that they did because now I see that it’s better to keep it at this level and grow it slowly.”
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