Putting the Fighters First

© Written by Cristiano Del Giacco

Putting the Fighters First: the XFC, its new owners and new direction.

Matt Walton had already been working for roughly four years as an official at varied MMA organisations before taking on his new position as co owner of the XFC. The scene is nothing new for him, and he has been afforded the privilege of experience, something invaluable to any fight promoter.

“I think people may think there is only room for a certain amount of MMA events. But, if each one is able to present their own twist on the event and become unique then there is no reason why there can’t be more events on the scene.”

Matt stated that he is working to take the XFC to a new level and provide the public with an event, which encompasses all of the winning ideals from other successful shows to create something that benefits both the fighters and fans alike.

I was interested to know more about how the promotion would be working towards the fighter’s interests. Matt explained that seeking to gain exclusive contracts with his fighters would eventually become the goal and will ensure that the fighter’s career could be guided on the right path.

I asked how he felt about fighters going on to larger international shows in which he gave his whole-hearted support and hinted towards the possibility of international opportunities for the XFC fighters. Though when pressed for more information on this he told me that I would have to wait for an announcement he had planned on the horizon.

In regards to the selection of fighters he mentioned that he and his business partner have been very hands on and proactive in seeking out fighters and creating matchups that will be exciting for the fans, while challenging for the fighters. Being part of the match making process also ensures that the safety of the fighter is of major importance. “At least four times a week we’ll be out at various gyms watching people train, watching people spar. I personally want to see as many people I can before we put them on a card; trying to keep the match ups as close as possible.”

Matt spoke about relying on in depth statistics to make better match ups so that a fighter with limited experienced is not paired with another who indecently happens to be a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. With the information out there available, it is the promoter’s responsibility to create exciting fights that will not endanger the athletes succumbing to a loophole in the fighters record of experience. From what I gathered the XFC’s intentions is in line with the fighters in both health and career, and this is what will be the key to the success of the XCF in the future.

To help develop the talent the XFC is considering holding amateur matches prior to the main event. This will help to expose amateur fighters to the stimulus of the lights and the cage and help to gradually usher them on the larger scale.

The XFC is looking towards committing to four shows a year so that there is more opportunity for the fighters to showcase their skills. “It’s better for the fighters as they can now know if each event is spaced 3 months apart, they can have one month off after a fight and then have two months to prepare for the next.”

Matt’s vision of the XFC is to support the fighter. “We want to be totally transparent.” The majority of money generated from sponsors will be provided to the fighters. Apart from a proportion of tickets sales, fighters will be receiving money from fight purses and prizes such as the Ben Quarmby performance of the night and the Jay Coyne submission of the night awards. “As we develop and we gain more sponsors the bigger we can make these prizes for the fighters.”

“We’ve got a couple of big announcements to make soon. Some involving some big names from XFC past and present, but that’s all I’m giving away right now.”

© Written by Cristiano Del Giacco