We tore a lot of that stuff down, and broke a few windows along the way.

I was on a bit of a mission then. I wouldn’t say that’s the same case with MMA. But it’s a fresh territory that interests me.

I did a lot of different things in boxing. I was a publicity director, a booking agent, matchmaker, manager, TV announcer. But I’d be the first one to admit that I am not an expert on MMA fighters. Certainly I am charged up by seeing a great fight. But my own particular niche; my “wheelhouse,” so to speak, resides in a place that is a step beyond that. And just to clarify, I am not trying to position myself as an MMA “insider.” because even though I am privy to a certain amount of inside info now and then, I’m not in the business per se,nor have I ever been engaged in the business of MMA promotion on a day-to-day basis.

Having said that, my experience in breaking down the nuts and bolts of some of the boxing industry, combined with the notion of actually being on the outside looking in, gives me what I think is a fresh and unique vantage point. I am not blinded by being an devout MMA fan, and not constrained to allegiances to any MMA organization in particular. Therefore I am probably free to see what some other might not see.

And although a lot of MMA followers have talked themselves blue in the face trying to explain to me how different the MMA business is from the boxing business, the truth is that the more I look at it, the more similarity I can see. And those similarities make a lot more sense as each day passes. After all, they are both combat sports, with the components of fighter, manager, trainer, promoter and matchmaker, all of which work their way into the dynamic of how and why business is done in a certain way; both sports feature individual performers, they use virtually the same revenue streams.

In ways that are subtle and not so subtle, MMA promoters have taken to trying to position themselves favorably relative to boxing, in terms of legitimacy and quality of the product. Structurally, there are also some similarities, and each sport can probably learn something from the other.

Perhaps most importantly, MMA and boxing have a common thread in that they are both regulated by the same people – the state athletic commissions. In fact, MMA and boxing are the only two so-called “legit” sports (some handle wrestling too) that they deal with. That, by definition, puts me right there in the arena with the guys I’m familiar with; the same players I have either extolled or exposed for years.

And one of the things I know is that those guys – the regulators – are looking at MMA at least in part through the perspective of their dealings with boxing. That creates a natural connection right there.

I understand that there are a number of capable MMA reporters, columnists and bloggers who have covered many of the issues surrounding MMA. But I think with this series you’re going to be reading about some of this from a whole different angle, one which will often break with conventional wisdom and which I hope you’ll find useful and thought-provoking.

If you’ve got something to add, or even something to complain about, don’t hesitate to weigh in: feedback@mmamemories.com