Matchmaking in MMA is a delicate business. The most famous fight card architects are the UFC’s Joe Silva and Sean Shelby and they are very much operate in the background when it comes to any sort of public or media interaction, perhaps because there are so many factors in play.
Below the UFC, matchmaking can arguably be even more difficult. Ian Dean, matchmaker for Europe’s largest promotion Cage Warriors, knows this all too well.
“Matchmaking used to be a lot more simplistic,” Dean told MMASucka, “you took one set of local guys and you matched them up against another set of local guys who sold tickets. This isn’t necessarily what I did but what some people did, but you’ve got to sell tickets. If you didn’t sell tickets you weren’t on the card…guys who sold more tickets you would push them more. Guys who were more high profile and selling more tickets would get matched up with names from abroad and get smashed.
“In London, I try and get a strong London base on the undercard so you’ve got guys selling tickets. Hopefully they’ll like what they see and come back…we also have guys that are contracted, so it’s a big juggling act. We do try and split the card so the undercard has your local guys, on the Facebook card you have local guys who are looking to progress…and you’ve got your main card where you’ll have your big names in the local area but I’m also allowed to luxury fights of guys who appeal to TV.”
Cage Warriors have gained attention in recent months with a number of potentially surprising match-ups on paper, either due to a perceived mismatch between the fighters or the choice of venue for these fights. Dean is bullish on this, and firmly believes that his ability to match up fighters not based on records alone makes for more intruging fights.
Dean said: “The Leeroy Barnes/Che Mills fight, people asking why are we putting that fight on and maybe why in Liverpool – part of it is Leeroy is popular in the North West and Che is well known. Also both guys were coming off losses and needed to rebuild, and that made the drama…If you look at the Philip Mulpeter fight with John Maguire, sure people might not know him,` but he has a big reputation in Ireland…Mulpeter talked about that fight on social media as well…The other aspect of matchmaking is you have to know your fighters. Philip Mulpeter’s really good. Sure his record says he’s 7-4 and people might think he’s not that great, but you can’t get too obsessed with records. MMA isn’t boxing, you aren’t fed twenty journeymen – or at least you shouldn’t be. No one likes a can crusher.
“You see promoters putting fights together and not caring, but I do care. I’m putting my name to these fights.”
Unlike organisations below the UFC in the States, Cage Warriors are not falling over themselves to sign anyone who has ever fought for the UFC. Carefully picking and choosing who they go after, UK fighters like Phil Harris and John Maguire as well as international names like Ulysses Gomez and Benny Alloway are among the select few who Cage Warriors will pick up.
Ian explained the rationale behind this, and what they look for when bringing in a new fighter.
“It makes sense for us to sign UK guys coming out of the UFC if it’s viable and they want to fight for Cage Warriors, Dean said, “It also depends on weight classes, we’ve got a lot of lighter weights. If you don’t have a big talent pool at that weight you’ll have to go out of your area to get guys. It’s a lot more complex than people realise, we’re not going to just go and sign guys because they fought on a card in the States.”
Cage Warriors have seen a significant number of champions leave the organisation in recent months – Cathal Pendred and Neil Seery have moved onwards and upwards to the UFC, while Ivan Buchinger decided to ply his trade elsewhere. With bantamweight champion Brett Johns stripped of his belt after missing weight, that leaves just welterweight champion Nicolas Dalby as the only current belt holder in the organisation.
Does the exodus of champions worry Dean? “What can you do?,” He said, “You can cry about it all day, but that doesn’t achieve anything. If a fighter has paid his dues and done things the right way, beaten the best guys, I’m happy for them…as for people thinking we’ll struggle, I don’t think that’s the case. I think we’ve shown that we can still promote and push guys and it’s going to make the rest of the roster work hard if titles are available, since those titles mean something. Look at the guys who those titles have been held by – Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, Antonio Silva, Jeff Monson. Look what those guys have gone on to.”
“We’re showing people both in the UK and abroad that we’re producing stars and can nurture talent. If fighters want to show that they’re the best they can do it our shows. We also have the history and the lineage going back, we have titles that were held by great fighters that have gone on to greater things.”
