MMA in Atlanta Takes a Major Hit: SportFightX Shuts Down
by Erich Vowell on Sep 3, 2010 6:30 PM EDT
in Georgia MMA
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MMA in Atlanta takes a major hit today as "SoCo" McAlister shuts down his MMA Promotion SportFightX this week. From his facebook page:
The rumors are true. It's been a great run, made some great friends, put on some great shows, but it's time for new ventures. Thank you to the supporters.
Since I have been following local MMA here in Georgia, to my knowledge this is the third promotion that has tried to promote MMA in the Metro Atlanta area and has closed their doors. This is very sad, because at the time McAlister had tried to spring a MMA boom in Atlanta. Since SportFightX has shut its doors it is more than obvious that Atlanta is just not a fight city.
MMA promotions such as Wild Bill's and MMA events held at the Cowboys nightclub in Kennesaw do really well in terms of business. They put on shows consistently and have good fights. The market at those shows are much smaller. Although the fans are rabid.
Yet in Atlanta the thirst for MMA is not there. Atlanta is the biggest city in the Southeast and it has firmly rejected MMA. For me it is a painful truth, because I so badly want to see good MMA events in my city.
SportFightX did not fail because of the lack of quality in the cage. The shows were always good and entertaining. Douglas Lima vs. Cortez Coleman for the Middleweight title and $10,000 was such a great drama filled fight. I really enjoyed attending every event. What I enjoyed more though was watching a promotion consistently come to Atlanta and put on shows. SportFightX did more to promote MMA in Atlanta than anyone else.
McAlister speaks with Georgiafighters.com
"It was our goal from the beginning to raise the quality of MMA production in the Atlanta metro area, put on the best possible fights for the fans as well as present the fighters not as mere combatants but as true professional athletes, which is the way I look at them."
I would like to wish Mr. McAlister the best of luck in the future and thank him for the great memories.
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SportFightX did not fail because of the lack of quality in the cage.
Yes it did. After the novelty wears off you have to rely on name recognition and quality fights to sustain you in the mma biz. SportFightX never gave the fans a reason to keep coming back. SportFightX was bush league from start to finish.
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I Disagree
SportFightX had partnerships with Redline (energy drink) and a local Rock Radio station. They got the word out to the best of their abilities.
In Atlanta there is a lot to do on the weekends. If you live in Duluth or Kennesaw, not as much to do. I don’t think it is a coincidence 3 other promotions have failed in Atlanta, while other promotions exist outside of Atlanta.
I don’t completely disagree. I just think there were more factors that caused their demise
"I have to carry out another fine moment before I die."
-Tatsuya Kawajiri-
Thanks, Erich. I wonder if Sportfight X would have done better to do more of a pro/am mix. As a promoter, you want to be sure that you set your expenses at a level that are sustainable. My understanding is that their last card had many pro fights on it. In retrospect, I wonder if they might have done better to follow the lead of several promoters in the region that will have events with maybe 3 pro fights and 8 amateur fights, for instance.
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