Maximum Fighting Championships owner Mark Pavelich and UFC President Dana White are somewhat similar. They both run their respective countries top MMA organizations, they are tireless workers who have the fans on their minds at all times, and they love the sport just as much if not more than anyone else. The two are also very brash and will not put up with any nonsense whether it’s from a fighter, their management or the media.
The two men have waged war against disrespectful fighters through the media on several occasions and while some choose to criticize how they go about running their business, it is hard to argue with the success each man has had. Pavelich’s shows are drawing more and more fans on television and to the arenas they hold their events at. Since 2001 Pavelich has been running MFC and has taken the organization to new heights and he knows there is still so much hard work ahead of him.
Pavelich is never one to hold anything back and to some he may sound arrogant, but to him it’s just a belief in his family’s hard work and dedication towards building a great company and putting on fights that will make the fans happy.
“Everything is going fantastic as usual! It’s hard not to when you work as hard as our family works,” Pavelich recently told Rebellion MMA Radio. “We’ve been in the game for 13 years and our goal is not to be cool, but to leave a legacy. When everyone else is worried Christmas, Hanukah and New Years we are worried about selling out shows. We’re worried about signing bigger sponsors, better fighters and you can see the other organizations have different priorities than us. You spend one hour with us and you will start building a statue of our family where it needs to be.”
A listener of the show had emailed us earlier in the week and wanted to know why Pavelich doesn’t grant any of his fighters an out clause which will allow them to get out of their contract and sign with the UFC. Pavelich become very animated and discussed why he has never or will never grant such a request.
“It’s funny; can you imagine how sick the MMA world is? That’s nothing against the person asking the question, but why would I allow that to happen,” Pavelich explained. “That’s ludicrous to even ask such a question when I own one of the biggest organizations in the world, but a fighter wants me to put a clause in their contract that allows them to go fight for a competitor. I realize they’re the biggest in the world, but any idiot that’s in this business that allows that should not be in this business. I’m not denying that the UFC is the best in the world, but I’m the best show in Canada by a million miles. I’m not about to discredit myself or my brand by allowing a fighter to get really good and then leave.”
“That’s like asking the coach just to get out on the field, let me be in the game. I’m not saying I will ever beat the UFC, but the mentality that these other promoters have is unbelievable. If you’re a promoter in the mixed martial arts world then you’re an absolute idiot. You’re a fake, you’re a fraud. All you are is a glorified fan when you allow a fighter to leave to go somewhere else. You’re not a successful owner and you certainly aren’t making any money in the mixed martial arts business. It bothers everyone that my family has never bowed down and we’ve never compromised who we are.
Pavelich takes great pride in the fact that his company is family run and family oriented. He has a few members of his immediate family working alongside him day in and day out to help promote their brand and grow the company.
“My son Dave Pavelich is a huge part of what we do here at MFC,” said Pavelich. “My wife Manon is the massive brains behind everything we do. She has been for years and she deserves so much credit for our success. She’s not all that into MMA, but she loves MFC. If you put her in a room with anybody she knows more about the business of MMA than all of them. She doesn’t know about armbars or chokeholds, but she knows this business.”
With the success of MFC growing rapidly and their promotion becoming available to fans in the United States, it’s only natural to wonder whether or not Pavelich has plans to take his shows outside of Canada.
“Do you know how badly I obsess about coming to the United States,” Pavelich stated. “My ticket prices in Canada are $600 to sit in the front row, $300 to sit in the second row, $200 to sit behind them and our cheapest ticket is $69.99. I don’t know anywhere in the US I can get that type of money for the tickets. I love America, our television partner is from America and most of my roster is American. As much as I love the country I am not going to go broke there either.”
PHOTO CREDIT – MFC
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