Asia's King of Matchmaking The URCC's Will Carlos

An Exclusive Interview With The URCC's Will Carlos

Matchmaker Extraordinaire

We are very pleased to have an exclusive interview with Will Carlos the King of Asian matchmakers (IMHO). Will works at the URCC, Asia’s longest established MMA organization based in that hotbed of MMA the Philippines.

I have only met Will briefly on one occasion but he was such a warm and welcoming guy and he has always been happy to keep in touch. 

He informed me that this is the first ever interview he has been asked to do. I must say that firstly I am very surprised to hear that, but also very pleased that we can go some way towards raising his profile to  MMA fans beyond the Philippines.

One of the biggest pluses of this interview is that Will was willing to actually spend some time answering the questions in depth, for that we are very grateful.

It's much harder to discover talent than it is to just buy it in and Will Carlos CAN spot talent.

So without further ado it's time for:

Ten Questions with Will Carlos:

#1 The URCC has just celebrated ten years as an MMA Organisation to what do you attribute this success?

I can attribute the success of the show, to the MMA fans in the Philippines, without them there would be no growing interest in the sport of MMA, and the Teams and fighters, no matter how limited the resources are, they are still able to improve on their MMA knowledge and apply it to their training.

Every show I see great improvements on how our local fighters handle themselves in the ring. These improvements may not be leaps and bounds but it is really improving every time.

MMA is a living art, it breathes and it has its on life, same with Jiu JItsu. It is not a dead art, it is in constant flux.

Every year in the BJJ Mundials for example you will see new moves being used in the tournament that you have never seen before, the same with MMA, every time the coaches and fighters find new ways on how to finish their opponent in a more efficient way.

#2 You are widely regarded as one of, if not the best matchmaker in Asian MMA why do you think that is?

Wow. Thanks for that. I would really like to think so. Actually, Alvin (Aguilar) and I are regarded as MMA royalty here in the Philippines by some sport writers and MMA bloggers.

I never thought my name would be included together with Alvin's. And I dont really know what that means, but it sounds good so why the hell not. Hahaha.

Like I said before matchmaking is not really regarded as an integral part of an MMA promotion that is for the regular MMA fan.

But for the aficionados and those who follow the sport, the matchmakers are the ones that get the blame or praise from the people who follow the sport.

No matter what, it is good the fans and sport critics are taking notice of the match making in every event.

Actually, I do take my inspiration from these opinions and try to absorb it and make it as part of my process in making my cards.

But like you said haters will always be there, we can't please everyone. When you said this to me, it really stuck and I stopped feeling bad hahaha. Thank you for the extra "Cajones" now I have 3. Hahahaha.

Anyway, going back to the topic why am I the best? It is because, due to my limited resources. I guess I am I able to find talent where no one else would bother looking.

I' d like to think of my self as a treasure hunter of sorts. I do not have the resources to get famous MMA fighters and put them in our show to be able to pull fans. I am able to put unknown fighters in the ring and make them speak for themselves after the fight.

Then you have a new URCC star in the making. One recent example is from the top of my head, Andrew Benibe, as I took the match making duties in the URCC, the board and past match makers before never took notice of the potential of these fighter.

But I saw him as an underrated MMA fighter. I started giving him more fights and once I again I was right on the money. South East Asia took notice and OneFC picked him from my roster for their show in Manila.

Now Mr. Benibe is given due respect and admiration he deserves. Another would be "The Phenom" Alvin Ramirez. I picked him out to fight in one of our Black Tie events. He was a flashy, cocky, and exciting amateur mma fighter.

But I saw an opening for him to show me if my gut feel is spot on. So I put him against one of our veterans if not the best and toughest MMA fighter during that time. Mr. Charlie Angel. This fighter knocks out all his opponents and has a cinder block for a skull.

As I had predicted, it went the distance and my new discovery put up a good show, not minding who he was up against. Ramirez lost that fight. But still I knew I have stumbled upon something that would bring the young MMA enthusiasts back in our arms.

Later that year , I put him up against our Pinweight Champion Roy Docyogen. Ramirez with a no win record against a 8-0 champion, what the hell was I thinking?

I had to convince the URCC board to let me do this fight. And thank god they did. But the following week was hell for me because the writers and critics were up my ass until the event day.

It was an obvious "tomato can match-up" hahaha, i never knew that term until then. Hahhaa.

And so event day, before their match as co-main event I through up twice because it really got to me.

But of course my intuition never failed, since then Ramirez has put up one the greatest fight in MMA history. He didn't win but URCC has a new superstar. I f you look at the crowd that night nobody was watching Docyogen , all eyes where on this kid from nowhere.

So after that night I raised my middle finger even higher to those critics. But I still have respect for them.

Another is "The Saint" the 47-year-old Dentist, Dr. Angelito Manguray who I was able to give a championship title shot which he won. And also was give an international fight against USA's Shane Wiggand. And the dentist or I mean "The Saint" proved me right once again.

#3 Please explain the process of putting a fight card together?

Hmmm.... i don't think I have a clear-cut process on how I put together my fight card. But I will try ...

First off I put together my main event and two co-main events and work my way to fill in the 8 slots. For balanced matching, I really do not look at the stats it's just secondary.

I look at the videos and past opponents and decide from there. Basically for me its all gut feel. I wish I could share more but that's how I put my fight card together. hahahaha. 

#4 How difficult is it in Asian MMA putting cards together when so many of the fighters are from different areas of martial arts and have no professional MMA records?

Ahhh... this is where my talent and gut feel comes in (Hahahaha). Like I said all is based on my intuition and how I see the fight happening in my head.

Since from the start I knew I had limited resources on how to match them up based on stats so I rely on video's of fighters. And of course I also look at how the crowd reacts to a certain fighter. 

#5 Given the dominance of gyms such as Team Lakay, what do you think is the special ingredient that makes one gym better than another in producing fighters?

For me it all comes down to the fighter themselves, if the fighters are dedicated and disciplined into putting 100% of their time and effort in their training, the team is well off on it's way into dominating any team they encounter.

#6 You have seen many Philippine fighters pass through the URCC over the years. Could you please list your top three and explain what makes then stand out?

My top three:

1. Andrew Benibe - because he was underrated and I knew he had great potential and I gave him the exposure that he needed when I took over the match making duties for URCC.

2. Richard "The Dancing Devil " Lasprilla - He was there in the infancy of the URCC and dominated the flyweight division until he lost to Kevin Belingon then the new era of Philippine MMA was born. 

3. Eduard "The Landslide" Folayang - What else can I say, Eduard is a hard worker, and I still believe he has not reached his full potential as a fighter. He needs to work on other aspects of his game. It was always his conditioning that gives him the victories but I believe his skills should follow suit, soon and I mean as soon as possible. Cross training is key.

7) What is it like working with Alvin and Bubbles? What makes them work so well together?

I practically grew up with the couple; Alvin has been my best friend since we were in preparatory school all the way into college. The key ingredient that they work so well together is because they share the same vision on where they want to take the URCC. And I share the same vision with them. 

#8 There have been rumours that the URCC are planning to run a show in America, are we any nearer to that becoming reality?

Yes there are rumors but I think Alvin would be the best person to answer that question. 

#9 Where do you think the URCC could be in ten years time?

Wow tough question... I think URCC will still be going strong with fighters even better than before, and I guess by that time we have already sent a couple of home-grown Filipino fighters to the UFC.

By this time I think I would still be doing the matchmaking I love what I do, and I love giving fighters a shot at their dreams of either fighting in the URCC or even becoming MMA champions. 

10) What are the benefits of working with ONE FC in your opinion?

The benefits of working with ONE FC? My network seems to grow even wider. People are taking notice of what I do. And ONE FC recognizes my knowledge in MMA for putting me as one of the core judges in their events. And I thank the ONE FC for recognizing that. And Alvin is proud of me for achieving such status in Asian MMA.

 You can read more from Will Carlos on his Blog HERE

The URCC Website is HERE