We rollin’!
Former “babysitter” to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stars, Burt Watson — who spent more than 14 years with the world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion — has signed on with Alliance MMA to, “help cultivate the next generation of champion fighters,” as its new director of fighter relations.
Alliance MMA distributed a press release this morning to announce the hiring. The “newly created” position entails the following:
“… [Burt] will serve as a motivational mentor for Alliance MMA’s regional promotions and their fighters…. Mr. Watson will help shepherd Alliance MMA’s most valued product, its fighters, in their quest to become MMA champions. Applying his extraordinary inspirational talents, he will routinely visit Alliance MMA promotions to ensure consistency in the fighter relations process, and concurrently assist in nurturing the upcoming generation of professional fighters. Mr. Watson will help standardize the coordination of behind the scenes details for the promotions to help ensure that fighters are competing at the highest possible level of personal performance.”
Watson, of course, suddenly resigned from his position with UFC in March 2015 after an undisclosed individual approached him “wrongly” about a fighter, Mark Munoz, not getting a ride back to the fighter hotel after an early weigh-in check (Munoz is not to blame). It was Watson’s responsibility, among numerous others, to ensure that fighters were hitting their marks and coming in at their contracted weights ahead of fight nights. In fact, in the wake of Watson’s sudden departure, UFC had to allegedly hire eight people to perform his duties.
He’s kinda important.
“My passion is working closely with fighters, and now with the Alliance MMA opportunity, I get to work with both fighters and the regional promoters to deliver the best possible experience for all,” Watson said in the press release. “MMA is widely regarded as the world’s fastest growing sport, and as the fan base continues to expand, I am totally stoked to help produce the next generation of stars as a member of the Alliance MMA family.”
Alliance MMA — the first MMA company to be traded on a major stock exchange (NASDAQ) — is looking to become the premier developmental league / feeder organization for aspiring MMA fighters. It has acquired seven companies, “including five MMA promotion companies, a digital media sports platform and an electronic ticketing platform optimized for marketing MMA events.”
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