In September, Legend Fighting Championship hosted their first Mixed Martial Arts event in Macau at the MGM Cotai Theatre, Legend Fighting Championship 13, featuring a card of great young fighters from Mainland China. The group are organizing a second event at the end of December and hope to continue with more in the coming year. Audie Attar, founder and president of Paradigm Sports Management company, a partner in Legend FC, and famously, the manager of UFC fighter Conor McGregor, attended the event and spoke exclusively to Macau CLOSER about the company’s plans to develop and promote MMA in China. He also gave us his thoughts on McGregor’s highly anticipated return to the Octagon in 2020.
How did you feel about Legend Fighting 13, your first MMA event in Macau?
We achieved a lot of our goals as a company, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. The MGM Theatre is an amazing venue and we were really able to maximize all the features. It’s only going to get better as this continues to grow and evolve. We are looking forward to being able to improve on things, and we’re excited about the next card for Legend 14 in December.
Can you tell us how you came to be involved as a partner in Legend Fighting Championship?
I was a founding board member of Legend, and Matthew Kwok was the original producer, so when he was reviving the brand, he invited me to be his partner in relaunching the brand. We wanted to create a platform that would allow these young players to hone their skills athletically, but also develop into the professionals that they need to be once they get to the global stage.
Why have you decided only to focus on fighters from Mainland China?
Other promotions try to homogenize all of Asia. There’s not one promotion that solely focuses on fighters from China, so we felt the market was being underserved, and we wanted to really focus on a developing the market. MMA is still an emerging sport globally and it’s that much more of an emerging sport in China.
We have a great recruiting and scouting effort in China, but we are getting to a level now that people are starting to reach out to us too. We have a level of production that fighters are able to come and fight and prepare themselves for the future, and gain the exposure and develop their brand. I do believe we are going to highlight some of the best fighters in China, and also identify some of the diamonds in the rough that nobody has have heard of.
What are your impressions of the level of MMA fighters in China at this stage?
MMA is such a young sport, but in China the talent pool is so deep and all throughout Mainland China you’re starting to see MMA gyms popping up. If their fighters take this seriously, it’s only a matter of time. They’re going to not only be able to grow and evolve as athletes, they’re going to start winning on a global stage. China has always been a dominant force when it comes to athletics, so I’m confident their athletes will continue to evolve and become some of the best in the world.
And how do you see Macau fitting into your development strategy for MMA in the region?
Our partnership with MGM signifies an historical moment for MMA and combat sports. Vegas is known as the fight capital of the world, and MGM is known as a pioneer of combat sports. So with our relationship with MGM Cotai, I feel that we’ve broken ground. MGM had never held a combat sports event in Asia, so I honestly believe that Macau could be the fight capital of Asia. Make no mistake about it, we hope to have many events in Macau in 2020, and we also hope to do more in the mainland. I was so impressed with the level of hospitality, style and taste that Macau delivers.
Conor McGregor is one of the great UFC champions and a very colourful character. You have been his manager now for eight years. It must have been an amazing experience so far.
Yes, it’s been quite the ride! Conor is a global icon, and a polarizing figure. Sometimes you’ll hear things that you may not agree with, rumors, crazy things, funny things, but ultimately, I know him as a human being. I know his family, I know what his true character is, I know him away from all the glitz and bright lights. At the end of the day, I really just try to help him not only be the best professional, but the best human being he possibly can be. I’m proud of him. When it’s all said and done, the story of Conor McGregor will be a legendary one and a beautiful one.
Conor has not been back inside the Octagon since his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018. His return to the UFC is one of the most highly anticipated events in global sports. When can his fans expect to see him fighting again?
We’re in talks with the UFC and I know Conor is very committed to coming back in 2020. I know he plans on staying active and fighting more than one time, so it’s all about getting the deal wrapped up with the UFC and hopefully committing to multiple dates so the fans can have some assurance on when he’s going to fight. I know he’s looking forward to that.
Do you think that will include a rematch with Khabib?
I absolutely think that’s going to happen. I would imagine that’s probably going to happen at the end of 2020. I think both fighters have said that they’d like to have it happen in Moscow. If both guys want it to happen, it looks like it probably will.
You were just two years old when your family immigrated to the US from Iraq, and you have noted that it wasn’t always easy growing up as in immigrant, particularly at that time. How do feel about the current rhetoric surrounding immigration these days?
I really can only speak to my experience in America, and every country has its own set of unique challenges when it comes to immigration. I’m an immigrant and America is a land of immigrants, so for me, I knew that anything was possible in America, as long as I worked hard and did the right thing. I always used any discrimination as fuel for my fire. I know where I come from and I know how important it was for me to succeed for my family and to represent my family and my culture, but more importantly to try to build a bridge of humanity and understanding, because at the end of the day we are all the same, and we all want the same things, no matter where you come from or what you believe in. I think that’s why I fell in love with sport, because it was really a way for me to earn respect by showing people that I was the same as them. It really was a vehicle to help me achieve my dreams and to build a bridge of tolerance and acceptance. I’m very fortunate to be in an industry that allows me to meet people, work with people and respect people from all around the world.
