Curly Howard
10-30-2003, 08:05 AM
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 10.29.2003 02:00 AM
*************.com Interview with Kipp Kollar
*************.com: Can you tell us about REALITY FIGHTING?
Kipp Kollar: REALITY FIGHTING is our New Jersey version of Mixed Martial Arts. We actually run Mixed Martial Arts in two different states -- Massachusetts and New Jersey. It's all under the United States Mixed Martial Arts Association – which is the main organization that sanctions these events. This is our fifth installment of REALITY FIGHTING. The venues, crowds, and number of fights have grown from our first show. Reality Fighting V will have seventeen fights. [In the process] we went from a high school gym that held about . . . 2,000 people to a venue down Atlantic City that holds about 3,200. We're gradually moving up to the Civic Center, which holds 7,000-10,000 but we don't want to make that jump until we know we can sell it out.
Also, the caliber of fighters has grown from just local fighters to . . . fighters form The Brazilian Top Team from Rio de Janeiro. We have American Top Team fighters and a lot of fighters from the North East that are of that caliber. Keith Rockel is coming from Massachusetts, Keith is a veteran of the UFC. It's almost like a Pro-Am. We're trying to mix some local talent with some professional fighters from around the world and really put together a great show. If people are going to buy a ticket for fifty dollars, why just give them six fights when you can fit in 16 or 17 fights? That's what they're all there to see.
My theory on amateur fights vs. pros is: a lot of times the amateur fights are more exciting than the pro fights because they don't have as much experience in the ring -- it's their first-time fight, second-time fight, they let it all go. I think, overall, people are going to be really pleased with the show.
*************.com: How does Reality Fighting compare with the Ultimate Fighting Championship?
Kipp Kollar: The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a tremendous financial backing. They acquire the best venues, the top fighters and can advertise with an enormous budget. We typically will have one or two of our fights at the level of UFC fighters. But at this point, that's all we can afford. Our venues are smaller which isn’t always bad, their typically isn’t a bad seat in the house. We usually have 15 to 20 matches at each show which we feel gives more for you r money. We are very pleased with the success of our organization. We basically provide a means for new fighters to get their feet wet in MMA. We also provide a stepping stone to the bigger shows like the UFC.
We alter the rules a little bit [compared to UFC]. With our amateur bouts, we don't allow knees or elbows to the face, because it's dangerous. So for a first-time fighter, we don't want someone kneeing and elbowing someone in the face -- just based on the fact that I don't think they're used to getting hit by those techniques. We don't want anybody to get hurt. For our professionals, we use exactly the same rules the UFC uses.
*************.com: Now, you used to be a referee for the UFC. How did that experience help you in putting Reality Fighting together?
Kipp Kollar: I was running MMA shows 5 years before I ever became a referee for the UFC. Being around the UFC whether it be reffing, judging or covering it for Grappling Magazine HAS HELPED BRING OUR SHOWS UP ANOTHER LEVEL. We have met many new contacts, and got a better idea of how these big shows are run successfully.
*************.com: Would you like to see Reality Fighting become like the minor league or the feeder league, as they would say?
Kipp Kollar: Yes. Actually a fighter called me, somebody I didn't know from some other state, telling me that someone from the UFC had recommended that this fighter compete in a show like ours to get some solid experience before approaching the UFC- they gave him my name and the Reality Fighting Show. I thought that was pretty cool -- that the UFC was giving out our name as a feeder show for them. We've had a few our our fighters compete in the UFC (Tim Sylvia, who's the current super heavyweight champ, Jeff Monson, Keith Rockell and Jorge Rivera are a few others...
*************.com: Now former Champion.
Kipp Kollar: Yes, I know. He was our super heavyweight champ. And then -- actually a gentleman who fought in the last UFC, Jorge Rivera, is our current heavyweight champ. He actually beat Tim Sylvia five years ago in an open hand match. They have to start somewhere, and they start with us.
*************.com: Now this is all produced through NAGA Fighter. What exactly is that?
Kipp Kollar: Well NAGA represents the North American Grappling Association. What we did, probably about eight years ago, is start a mixed grappling tournament circuit, where there's no strikes -- just submission grappling. We didn't limit it to one style. We had Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, high-school wrestlers and college wrestlers all compete underneath a set of rules that we put together. That [format] was very popular. We have our next show in November and we'll have 1,000+ competitors. A lot of the fighters who grapple want to take the next step up to Mixed Martial Arts . . . Most of the guys that compete in Reality Fighting also compete in our grappling shows. It's all underneath the NAGA umbrella.
*************.com: Ken Shamrock told us he's going to be at the event to promote his new line of clothing, "Ground 'n' Pound". I was wondering what your thoughts are on Ken's involvement for the fans that are going to show up?
Kipp Kollar: Ken and the Ground 'n' Pound guys came to the grappling show that we had down in Wildwood, New Jersey -- and I definitely think he adds a lot of value to the event. There were 200 people in line to get his autograph and take a picture . . . It’s common for celebrities like Shamrock to sign a few autographs then get back to watching the event. But Ken [works] all day long, for however many hours we’re there -- over eight – Shamrock took pictures and signed autographs. He’s a good sport. He's definitely an intelligent guy, a great speaker -- I think he adds a lot of value to the show.
*************.com: So what can the fans expect from the show?
Kipp Kollar: The majority of our fans -- our fan base – [comes from] family and friends of fighters. [Then] there's a community of Mixed Martial Artists out there -- through various websites and through our mailing list -- that, I think, really enjoy these shows. We've grown from 500 fans at our first show to over 3,000 at our next one. Our goal, obviously, is to sell the show out. And I think our fans really enjoy the Reality Fighting MMA shows. We have our own octagon ring that we built a couple of years ago that is very unique. The ring is much better than a cage for two reasons. Number one, in a cage, fighters typically take their opponent’s down, then bring them to a corner, hold onto the cage -- and it makes for a boring fight. Second, it's very difficult to see, when you're in the audience, through the cage -- unless you're above the cage. So people who spend the most money on seats typically don't see the fight that well because of the cage. With a ring, you can obviously see between the ropes. And what we did instead of using a standard boxing ring which has four ropes or three ropes, we put five ropes on the ring, [including] a very low rope that doesn't allow the fighters to fall out while they're fighting. That's what really makes our shows separate from a lot of other shows that you'll see in a boxing ring or a cage.
*************.com: Thank you very much.
*************.com Interview with Kipp Kollar
*************.com: Can you tell us about REALITY FIGHTING?
Kipp Kollar: REALITY FIGHTING is our New Jersey version of Mixed Martial Arts. We actually run Mixed Martial Arts in two different states -- Massachusetts and New Jersey. It's all under the United States Mixed Martial Arts Association – which is the main organization that sanctions these events. This is our fifth installment of REALITY FIGHTING. The venues, crowds, and number of fights have grown from our first show. Reality Fighting V will have seventeen fights. [In the process] we went from a high school gym that held about . . . 2,000 people to a venue down Atlantic City that holds about 3,200. We're gradually moving up to the Civic Center, which holds 7,000-10,000 but we don't want to make that jump until we know we can sell it out.
Also, the caliber of fighters has grown from just local fighters to . . . fighters form The Brazilian Top Team from Rio de Janeiro. We have American Top Team fighters and a lot of fighters from the North East that are of that caliber. Keith Rockel is coming from Massachusetts, Keith is a veteran of the UFC. It's almost like a Pro-Am. We're trying to mix some local talent with some professional fighters from around the world and really put together a great show. If people are going to buy a ticket for fifty dollars, why just give them six fights when you can fit in 16 or 17 fights? That's what they're all there to see.
My theory on amateur fights vs. pros is: a lot of times the amateur fights are more exciting than the pro fights because they don't have as much experience in the ring -- it's their first-time fight, second-time fight, they let it all go. I think, overall, people are going to be really pleased with the show.
*************.com: How does Reality Fighting compare with the Ultimate Fighting Championship?
Kipp Kollar: The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a tremendous financial backing. They acquire the best venues, the top fighters and can advertise with an enormous budget. We typically will have one or two of our fights at the level of UFC fighters. But at this point, that's all we can afford. Our venues are smaller which isn’t always bad, their typically isn’t a bad seat in the house. We usually have 15 to 20 matches at each show which we feel gives more for you r money. We are very pleased with the success of our organization. We basically provide a means for new fighters to get their feet wet in MMA. We also provide a stepping stone to the bigger shows like the UFC.
We alter the rules a little bit [compared to UFC]. With our amateur bouts, we don't allow knees or elbows to the face, because it's dangerous. So for a first-time fighter, we don't want someone kneeing and elbowing someone in the face -- just based on the fact that I don't think they're used to getting hit by those techniques. We don't want anybody to get hurt. For our professionals, we use exactly the same rules the UFC uses.
*************.com: Now, you used to be a referee for the UFC. How did that experience help you in putting Reality Fighting together?
Kipp Kollar: I was running MMA shows 5 years before I ever became a referee for the UFC. Being around the UFC whether it be reffing, judging or covering it for Grappling Magazine HAS HELPED BRING OUR SHOWS UP ANOTHER LEVEL. We have met many new contacts, and got a better idea of how these big shows are run successfully.
*************.com: Would you like to see Reality Fighting become like the minor league or the feeder league, as they would say?
Kipp Kollar: Yes. Actually a fighter called me, somebody I didn't know from some other state, telling me that someone from the UFC had recommended that this fighter compete in a show like ours to get some solid experience before approaching the UFC- they gave him my name and the Reality Fighting Show. I thought that was pretty cool -- that the UFC was giving out our name as a feeder show for them. We've had a few our our fighters compete in the UFC (Tim Sylvia, who's the current super heavyweight champ, Jeff Monson, Keith Rockell and Jorge Rivera are a few others...
*************.com: Now former Champion.
Kipp Kollar: Yes, I know. He was our super heavyweight champ. And then -- actually a gentleman who fought in the last UFC, Jorge Rivera, is our current heavyweight champ. He actually beat Tim Sylvia five years ago in an open hand match. They have to start somewhere, and they start with us.
*************.com: Now this is all produced through NAGA Fighter. What exactly is that?
Kipp Kollar: Well NAGA represents the North American Grappling Association. What we did, probably about eight years ago, is start a mixed grappling tournament circuit, where there's no strikes -- just submission grappling. We didn't limit it to one style. We had Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, high-school wrestlers and college wrestlers all compete underneath a set of rules that we put together. That [format] was very popular. We have our next show in November and we'll have 1,000+ competitors. A lot of the fighters who grapple want to take the next step up to Mixed Martial Arts . . . Most of the guys that compete in Reality Fighting also compete in our grappling shows. It's all underneath the NAGA umbrella.
*************.com: Ken Shamrock told us he's going to be at the event to promote his new line of clothing, "Ground 'n' Pound". I was wondering what your thoughts are on Ken's involvement for the fans that are going to show up?
Kipp Kollar: Ken and the Ground 'n' Pound guys came to the grappling show that we had down in Wildwood, New Jersey -- and I definitely think he adds a lot of value to the event. There were 200 people in line to get his autograph and take a picture . . . It’s common for celebrities like Shamrock to sign a few autographs then get back to watching the event. But Ken [works] all day long, for however many hours we’re there -- over eight – Shamrock took pictures and signed autographs. He’s a good sport. He's definitely an intelligent guy, a great speaker -- I think he adds a lot of value to the show.
*************.com: So what can the fans expect from the show?
Kipp Kollar: The majority of our fans -- our fan base – [comes from] family and friends of fighters. [Then] there's a community of Mixed Martial Artists out there -- through various websites and through our mailing list -- that, I think, really enjoy these shows. We've grown from 500 fans at our first show to over 3,000 at our next one. Our goal, obviously, is to sell the show out. And I think our fans really enjoy the Reality Fighting MMA shows. We have our own octagon ring that we built a couple of years ago that is very unique. The ring is much better than a cage for two reasons. Number one, in a cage, fighters typically take their opponent’s down, then bring them to a corner, hold onto the cage -- and it makes for a boring fight. Second, it's very difficult to see, when you're in the audience, through the cage -- unless you're above the cage. So people who spend the most money on seats typically don't see the fight that well because of the cage. With a ring, you can obviously see between the ropes. And what we did instead of using a standard boxing ring which has four ropes or three ropes, we put five ropes on the ring, [including] a very low rope that doesn't allow the fighters to fall out while they're fighting. That's what really makes our shows separate from a lot of other shows that you'll see in a boxing ring or a cage.
*************.com: Thank you very much.