Can You Say “Yamma”? New Group, Old Pro
Published by on February 4th, 2008 in History

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CAN YOU SAY “YAMMA”?
Here comes a new MMA group – with an old pro at the helm

By MMAMemories.com

The pioneer of MMA – as we know it in America – is back in action.

Bob Meyrowitz, who along with Rorion Gracie and Art Davie founded the UFC back in 1993, has a new organization to vie for the attention of mixed martial arts fans. YAMMA Pit Fighting (YPF) has announced that it will be adopting the tournament format, perhaps similar to what PRIDE did with its Grand Prix. Meyrowitz’s initial press notice makes mention of a “new fighting surface” and it will be interesting to ascertain exactly what that means.

There is further teasing, as they reveal that it is called the “YAMMA,” but is otherwise nebulous: “…an evolution of the traditional fighting ring that will greatly alter the current basis of MMA by changing how the fight is fought and the strategy the fighters must use to win.”

What does that mean? Well, it’s pit fighting, so maybe it’s sand.

Meyrowitz is also reviving something along the lines of his “SuperFight concept that highlighted many of the early UFC shows. he will stage two fights of this nature in each promotion, to be conducted outside the scope of the tournament matches. The IFL has since used the SuperFight on its shows, using competitors that are not part of its team format.

Meyrowitz said, “Our deep and proven knowledge of the entertainment and MMA spheres put us in a great position to add a new dimension to the presentation of MMA as it moves into the future.”

There’s probably some truth in that statement. Whether Meyrowitz is going to be a big part of MMA’s future is as yet unknown, but he has been a prominent part of its past. He was in the fray when no one knew what it was or even what it could be. Unlike the Dana Whites and Lorenzo Fertittas, he didn’t have a road map to go by. His company, SEG, built a sizable audience for the UFC, and he continued with it, despite numerous difficulties with local and state officials, until the political pressure that was brought to bear on a national level led to him selling out to Zuffa LLC, headed by Fertitta and White.

The other principal involved in YPF is Peter Kauff, who was also Meyrowitz’s partner in the “King Biscuit Flower Hour,” a music program that was very widely syndicated on radio.

The first show is scheduled for Atlantic City, at the Trump Taj Mahal, on April 11. Let’s see if it gets off the ground, and whether it has some staying power.

Judging from Meyrowitz’s past record, it’s got a chance.