In the fight game, fighters fight and promoters largely promote. It’s a nearly exclusive rule, but there are some exceptions.
While promoters never fight, occasionally a fighter will promote.
An increasing trend in recent years, more and more combat sports athletes are testing out the waters of running their own promotions. Oftentimes, it’s a fighter who has some name recognition, buzz, or influence in the sport. There are exceptions to the rule, however – fighters who have just figured out how to run a regional promotion successfully.
There are the more obvious stars like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jorge Masvidal, who have used their big platforms to promote their recent dive into promoting. There are also others who have quietly promoted behind the scenes for years.
Scroll below to see which current and former UFC fighters currently run their own promotions.
Note: Promotions that have not held an event since before 2019 were not included in this list – and this list is not necessarily all-inclusive.
Derek Brunson
Name of promotion: Ultimate Battle Grounds
Launch year: 2018
Number of events to date: 10
Region(s): The Carolinas
Notable alumni: Bryan Battle
Johnny Case
Name: Midwest Cage Championship
Launch year: 2006 (Case purchased in 2016)
Number of events to date: 66
Region(s): Iowa
Notable alumni: Kevin Burns, Johnny Case, Luis Saldana, T.J. O’Brien, Brad Imes, Rakim Cleveland, Michael McBride, Jordan Young, Elvis Mutapcic
Donald Cerrone
Name: Cowboy Fight Series
Launch year: 2019
Number of events to date: 4
Region(s): Virginia
Notable alumni: Sumiko Inaba
Cris Cyborg
Name: Nação Cyborg
Launch year: 2018
Number of events to date: 12
Region(s): Brazil
Notable alumni: Melissa Gatto, Guto Inocente, William Macario
Urijah Faber
Name: Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat
Launch year: 2022
Number of events to date: 0 (inaugural card set for May 1)
Region(s): California
Notable alumni: n/a
Alexander Gustafsson
Name: AK Fighting Championship
Launch year: 2018
Number of events to date: 3
Region(s): Sweden
Dan Henderson
Name: Hendo’s Fight Night
Launch year: 2018
Number of events to date: 8
Region(s): California
Wallid Ismail
Name: Jungle Fight
Launch year: 2003
Number of events to date: 105
Region(s): Brazil
Notable alumni: Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza, Jorge Patino, Fabricio Werdum, Gabriel Gonzaga, Justin McCully, Evangelista Santos, Travis Wiuff, Adriano Martins, Fredson Paixao, Chinzo Machida, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jose Aldo, Alexandre Ferreira, Thales Leites, Marcos Galvao, Danillo Villefort, Steve Cantwell, Igor Pokrajac, Haim Gozali, Paulo Thiago, Johnny Eduardo, Erick Silva, Ronys Torres, Todd Duffee, Hacran Dias, Charles Oliveira, Renee Forte, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dion Staring, Vanessa Porto, Nazareno Malegarie, Brett Cooper, Sergio Moraes, Rodrigo Damm, Renan Barao, Marcelo Guimares, Pedro Munhoz, Renato Moicano, Iuri Alcantara, Viscardi Andrade, Francisco Trinaldo, Ilarde Santos, John Lineker, Alan Patrick, Elias Silveiro, Douglas Silva de Andrade, Rodney Wallace, Valmir Lazaro, Warlley Alves, Bethe Correia, Guilherme Bomba, Thiago Silva, Tiago Trator, Larissa Pacheco, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Gabriel Silva, Deiveson Figueiredo, Amanda Ribas, Amanda Lemos, Alex Pereira, Matheus Mattos, Bruno Cappelozza, Paulo Costa, Polyana Viana, Klidson Abreu, Norma Dumont, Felipe Colares, Kleydson Rodrigues,
Brett Johns
Name: Brett Johns Fight Nights
Launch year: 2022
Number of events to date: 0 (inaugural card set for May 14)
Region(s): United Kingdom
Notable alumni: n/a
Calvin Kattar
Name: Combat Zone MMA
Launch year: 2003 (Kattar purchased in 2013)
Number of events to date: 75
Region(s): New England
Notable alumni: Joe Lauzon, Kenny Florian, Drew Fickett, Marcus Davis, Mike Brown, John Howard, Dan Lauzon, Josh Grispi, Calvin Kattar, Parker Porter, Ken Stone, Pat Audinwood
James Krause
Name: Fighting Alliance Championship (FAC)
Launch year: 2012 (rebranded from KCFA to FAC in 2019)
Number of events to date: 12
Region(s): Missouri
Notable alumni: Kevin Croom, Jason Witt, Jeff Molina, David Onama, Trey Ogden, Jason High, Jake Lindsey, Mike Breeden, Chance Rencountre, Isaac Dulgarian
Jorge Masvidal
Promotion: Gamebred FC
Launch year: 2021
Number of events to date: 3
Region(s): Southeast United States (expansion expected in 2022)
Notable alumni: Jason Knight, Charles Bennett, Brok Weaver, Alex Nicholson, Rob Emerosn, Andy Nguyen, Jonathan Ivey, Anthony Njokuani, Tony Lopez
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Promotion: Eagle FC
Launch year: 2020 (Gorilla FC rebranded)
Number of events to date: 46
Region(s): Russia, Florida
Notable alumni: Kevin Lee, Diego Sanchez, Rizvan Kuniev, Ray Borg, Ricky Bandejas, Irwin Rivera, Impa Kasanganay, Sergei Kharitonov, Tyrone Spong, Rashad Evans, Cody Gibson, Yorgan De Castro, Loik Radzhabov, Ramazan Kuramagomedov, Alexander Shlemenko
Suman Mokhtarian
Name: Urban Fight Night
Launch Year: 2014
Number of events: 29
Region(s): Australia
Notable alumni: Josh Culibao, Tai Tuivasa, Nadia Kassem, Tyson Pedro, Alex Gorgees
Anthony Pettis
Name: Showtime FC
Launch Year: 2022
Number of events to date: 1
Region(s): Florida
Notable alumni: Jacob Kilburn
Kamaru Usman
Name: African Knockout
Launch Year: 2020
Number of events to date: 6
Region(s): Nigeria
Notable alumni: Ndidi Alonu
