Legend Fighting Championships Mike Haskamp Speaks
On Saturday 27th April at Kuala Lumpurs, Chin Woo Stadium, Legend Fighting Championship makes their long awaited debut outside of China with Legend FC 11.
We got a chance to speak to the king pin behind Legend: Mike Haskamp.
Q) This is Legend FC's first step outside of China, why did you choose Malaysia?
A) Following the AXN deal we closed late last year, we turned our attention to Southeast Asia in partnership with our friends at Sony. There is a lot of potential for the sport in this region, but of course, every country poses its own unique challenges as well.
We ultimately selected Malaysia for a couple of reasons. First, it's one of AXN's strongest markets. They're part of the basic package on Astro, which covers about half of all Malaysian households. And they're the number one pay-TV entertainment channel throughout the entire region, including Malaysia. And second, there is strong grassroots growth in the sport in Malaysia due to a surge in the number of gyms, local fighters, and local shows.
I think MMA as a sport still has a way to go before it achieves mainstream status in Malaysia, but it's certainly taking some steps in the right direction, and we hope we can do our part.
A) Yes, we are. We've established a strong base in Hong Kong and Macau, and in order to continue to drive the sport, local engagement is key. Different markets in the region are at different stages of MMA development, both talent-wise and commercially. The AXN and ESPN deals have opened up a lot of great new opportunities for us, but we've always believed in being smart about how we grow.
A) This is an interesting one both in general and in light of your earlier question regarding more events outside Hong Kong and Macau.
While the raw athletic talent is certainly present here in Asia, lack of adequate coaching and training facilities combined with heretofore limited opportunities to compete has resulted in a relatively small pool of high-level talent. But I think that's changing fast. You're seeing a lot more high quality instructors make their way to Asia, and share what they know not just with fighters but also with local coaches. And there are a lot more gyms coming online. Most of those are more fitness-based and not focused on producing fighters, but they are growing the next generation of MMA fans, which is also important. And there are a good number of legitimate fighter-focused gyms that have sprung up over the last couple of years.
While the raw athletic talent is certainly present here in Asia, lack of adequate coaching and training facilities combined with heretofore limited opportunities to compete has resulted in a relatively small pool of high-level talent. But I think that's changing fast. You're seeing a lot more high quality instructors make their way to Asia, and share what they know not just with fighters but also with local coaches. And there are a lot more gyms coming online. Most of those are more fitness-based and not focused on producing fighters, but they are growing the next generation of MMA fans, which is also important. And there are a good number of legitimate fighter-focused gyms that have sprung up over the last couple of years.
We've never struggled to find great fighters for our cards since we've always taken a very selective approach regarding who we sign, and we also prefer to keep guys already on our roster as busy as possible rather than developing a massive pool. For example, Legend 11 features 24 fighters. 20 of those fighters have previously fought at Legend, most of them a couple of times. We think it's an important commitment for us to make to them to keep them active, and it also goes toward our aim of developing the sport by giving fighters recurring opportunities to compete against evenly matched opponents.
At the same time, as we continue our expansion, it will be important to give local fighters in new markets the chance to fight. But even then, I think you need to be selective, focused, and cognizant of how developed the sport is. Using Legend 11 again as an example, we've got two Malaysians - Hanif and Sam - fighting on the undercard. They're still early in their development, but they have a lot of heart and potential, and as they progress in their skills and career, they'll eventually make their way onto the main card, and hopefully serve as inspiration for the next generation of Malaysian MMA fighters.
At the same time, as we continue our expansion, it will be important to give local fighters in new markets the chance to fight. But even then, I think you need to be selective, focused, and cognizant of how developed the sport is. Using Legend 11 again as an example, we've got two Malaysians - Hanif and Sam - fighting on the undercard. They're still early in their development, but they have a lot of heart and potential, and as they progress in their skills and career, they'll eventually make their way onto the main card, and hopefully serve as inspiration for the next generation of Malaysian MMA fighters.
A) I don't think the long-term plan has changed for us over the past four years. The goal has always been to develop MMA into a mainstream sport here in the Asia-Pacific, and to have a lot of fun in the process. The Asian MMA press tends to make a disproportionate amount of noise and loves hyperbole, and many of them project the idea that MMA is already the biggest sport in the region and is rapidly approaching the popularity of white rice. While I agree with the idea that MMA certainly has that potential, we're still a few years away from that becoming a reality, although I certainly hope to be around when it does.
Q) Where do you see the most interest in MMA in the Asian Pacific area?
6) There are a lot of markets where interest in MMA is already significant and continues to grow: Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand have strong fan bases. But frankly, I think China demonstrates the greatest interest in MMA. I think that's sometimes hard for people to appreciate because in spite of its large size, China is pretty opaque. But when you look at the numbers, there's just no denying the interest in the sport. In 2012, the number of TV sports programming hours for combat sports came third, behind only football (soccer) and basketball. And the viewership numbers for Legend are equally telling. People always like to talk about reach, potential audience, etc., but the numbers we should all really care about are actual ratings. We retain an agency called CSM that provides us ratings for all our shows. Our first show of 2012, Legend 7, was viewed by 12 million people in Mainland China, including re-runs and repeats. Our fourth show of the year was Legend 10, and that show had an audience of 18 million people. That's 50% growth in our rated, independently verified audience in just six months. The appetite is enormous for MMA in China.
A) I would like to thank my wife - who also works at Legend - for her seemingly infinite support, patience, and love as she's stayed on this wild ride with me over the past four years.
You can find the Fight Card HERE
Our thanks to Mike for his time - It's going to be a great show, we will be there and so should you!
You can find the Fight Card HERE
Our thanks to Mike for his time - It's going to be a great show, we will be there and so should you!
Look out for interviews with some of the fighters on the Legend FC card coming over the next few days.
