The Exchanges

Q to that Marcus fight. And then I think it was Dennis Silver in Boston. If I remember correctly, like in the early days, you still see that he has some type of star power on camera. But behind the scenes, uh, even at a young age, in his early twenties, did you notice that, uh, the confidence and the star power was there just in your normal hanging out sessions?

A Yeah, you could definitely see his charisma behind the scenes. And, um, you know, he was, like I said, he was very witty, uh, very, very confident, but also very engaging. You know, I think one of the things I always tell people is that, you know, majority of people in the world Uh, know who Conor McGregor is. And I would argue that most of them have never seen him fight. They've actually seen more of his interviews and, and, and, um, and him talking because, you know, when he talks, you can't take your eyes off of it. Right. He's just so fun. And, and whether you love him or hate him, you're watching him, you know, and that's, that's, I think what makes him special.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, you could definitely see his charisma behind the scenes.”

Q They were paying Spike to put themselves on TV?

A That's a, that's publicly known. They were actually, you know, paying for that airtime. So the original Ultimate Fighter and then all, all that was broadcast on Spike back in the day. Um, yeah, they, they were not only funding their own production, but they were paying for that airtime. And, and Fox was that really first paid deal. That the UFC, uh, garnered, you know, and, and which was a, uh, monumental, uh, milestone for the sport and, and for the promotion. And the sport of mixed martial arts, you know, is, is, it wouldn't be here without the UFC, which is the catalyst for where the sport is today. Now you have other promotions that are competing and promotion is very synonymous with leagues, right? So when you talk about leagues, um, you know, it's, there, there's certain terminologies within Sports world that are very similar, although there's a lot of differences as well, right? In terms of, you know, athletes in the NFL, NBA being employees and then fighters being independent contractors. So for us, we saw an opportunity of, of it not only being the fastest growing sport and an underserved market for the athletes, but then also really thinking beyond just management. How could we create, you know, um, more value for the clients and, you know, it takes a special client and a special Personality like Conor McGregor. So I was very fortunate to sign him 10 years ago and, yo…

AI assessment note: “They were actually, you know, paying for that airtime.”

Q you take us back? Like, uh, you know, like I see all these videos of you like hanging out at Connor's house or whatever, and like, you know, the behind the scenes stuff. There had to have been just like a couch conversation where you guys are like, okay, could we do this? How could we do this? What, what was the early days like before it came to fruition?

A So I, to your point, I think, you know, you have two of the smarter and shabby businessmen in combat sports that really understood You know, the modern day fandom of both sports, right? And early days, like, he wants to do it, and then it would be shot down by UFC, by, by members of the media, by whoever that just doubted that it would ever happen. Um, and I think that the, the banter is really what allowed it to happen, because once they started going back and forth, and you could actually see the level of engagement and interest from a market perspective and from a consumer perspective, It was hard to deny it, right? It was hard to deny it because it was like, this is real, it's viable, it, it's a, it's a win-win scenario, and a win for all parties who'd be involved. Why not, right? The fans want it, the fighters want it, and, and moreover, the numbers were speaking for themselves from an analytics perspective. So that allowed us to really use What the two fighters were intelligently doing on a very instinctive level, right? There wasn't planned. There wasn't scripted. It was very instinctive, but moreover, I think what my job is, is to look at the data and be like, right, there's something very viable here. There's something that, you know, you have to be able to take and Continue to, to, to advocate and push for your client because you could effectively have a successful bu…

AI assessment note: “And early days, like, he wants to do it, and then it would be shot down”

Q You have those regrets, which I think is normal, by the way. I think most people who, not, maybe most, I think who they sell, you all, if you sell it right, you tend to sell early, right? I mean, that tends to happen.

A I think, I think the way we structured the deal allows us to really continue Not only made a ton of money, but we just continued to make a ton of money. And, and, you know, ultimately, have I had those thoughts? Sure. You always think about it. And because it's, for me, it's more so, okay, It's about execution, right? So not only do we execute, but then how's, how's the deal? How's the terms? How's this? How's that? You know, so I'm kind of like constantly watching the film to make sure that I'm learning and growing as an entrepreneur because I'm not resting on my laurels either. I'm not done, right? And so I'm, I'm still playing the game. And while you play the game, you gotta be able to not only celebrate the victories, but watch the tape back and see where you could have gotten better, right? That's the only way you're going to be the best at what you do.

AI assessment note: “have I had those thoughts? Sure. You always think about it.”

Q know, I can't really, you know, get behind everything that I'm, that I'm seeing here. Um, do you think about that at all? And do you, uh, I guess like, what's your reaction to that? I don't really know how to phrase the question, but I feel like you're one of the few people on earth who would have an opinion about this that I would really care to hear.

A I mean, look, it's just like you are engaged with these conversations. Naturally, I'm going to hear everything, right, from people around me, you know, whether it's my friends or there's family, and ultimately, what I'll say is this, like, you know, everybody's entitled to their own opinion. I know who the person is, and obviously, I do have an intimate relationship. It's something that's more than just transactional. It's more than just a client and business partner. Someone that I'm loyal to has been loyal to me, and so, At the end of the day, you know, I know that history, once it's done being written, will be interpreted by everybody differently. He's definitely not perfect. He's definitely made mistakes. But a lot of the criticism too is subjective. It's based on where, where you stand on what you believe in or what you want to see, et cetera. But A, never been legally, all those accusations Have not been legally found to be true, right? B, he was the cleanest and most tested athlete before he got out of the Isada pool, and when he returns to fighting, he's going to do it the right way, and everything's going to be legal, so everybody can say what they want to say. There's nothing that was done wrong, right? And so he's, he's constantly being vilified, because ultimately, the stuff that they loved him for, he still does. Still outspoken, still says what's on top of his min…

AI assessment note: “all those accusations Have not been legally found to be true”

Q Was that, was that like a new level for you wealth wise? And what, I mean, or were you able to make money a little bit along the way?

A You know, I think that was a whole nother level, right? That was a whole nother level where you're able to, Achieve, you know, your, your, your, your, you know, your ultimate goals, right? But ultimately too, you're, you're, you're proving your concept. You know what I mean? Like ultimately, like we're not having to go sell the platform. We're creating liquidity events by creating opportunities, um, left and right. And not just for clients. Now we're creating ventures that are, you know, creative to the platform. We have a, a smart basketball technology called hoop. We have Uh, you know, some other ventures in the pipeline that are coming out that are very, very much focused on, on advocacy for the entire sport and creating something where we're putting our own capital in these things to create opportunities for everybody else, right? And so, and, and there's other things that we're creating specifically for our clients, right? So, so, you know, in lieu of, of, of, of, of, you know, having the opportunity to invest or, you know, an athlete not, Maybe not having the brand equity to go start their own venture. How can we bring them along the ride with us? You know, for, for the next proper trouble, if you will. Right.

AI assessment note: “You know, I think that was a whole nother level, right?”