Will Ken Pavia Ever Fight Dirty Curty?

There was a proposed Pavia-Curty last year, but it was scrapped when the card was postponed. Will this fight ever happen? Here's an MMAHawaii.com Exclusive Interview w/Dirty Curty

War Machine Set to Battle Guillaume de Lorenzi in Tonight's XMMA Event

Posted by Sean Frank

Tonight War Machine, aka Jon Koppenhaver, travels north of the border to face rising undefeated prospect Guillaume de Lorenzi. War Machine steps in as a late replacement for Phil Baroni. The Ultimate Fighter veteran went 1-1 inside the octagon and looks to redeem himself after being cut by Bellator Fighting Championship (without even fighting). War Machine has received criticism for his recent comments, but appears re-focused on resurrecting his MMA career.

UFC Vet Brandon Lee Hinkle Set for Main Event at 4 Bears Casino

Posted by Sean Frank

On March 21st, Brandon Lee Hinkle returns to action in an SNMMA Title Fight against 15-1 Chris Tuchscherer. Hinkle, a UFC veteran, trains out of Hammerhouse and has recently signed with super-agent Ken Pavia of MMAagents.com. For more information check www.4bearsfightclub.com

Jay Hieron Trivia Contest Winners

Congrats to Ian Curry, Ethan Fox, Kerrie Gonzales, Jonathan Stephens, and Frank Wiehl for winning the Jay Hieron trivia contest. Thank you all for participating! Stay tuned to MMAagents.com and MMAagents.blogspot.com for more news and contests!

The winners will receive a prize package, including products from Bulletproof Athletics (www.bulletproofathletics.com), Hoodlum Fight Gear (www.hoodlumfightgear.com), Evo Energy Drink (www.drinkevo.com) as well as Gammo-O (www.gammao.com).

Jay Hieron Trivia Contest Answers

1) Brooklyn. (*wikipedia and Jay's personal website had his place of birth wrong, we confirmed with Jay, and we did not mean for it to be a trick question)
2) Bas Rutten
3) Phil Baroni
4) Delson Heleno
5) Hieronymus *Sorry for the earlier typo

*The contest was open to 6 winners, but there were only 5 correct entries. We will announce the winners shortly on the website.

Stay Tuned: Jay Hieron Trivia Contest

The winners should be announced shortly.....

Reminder: Jay Hieron Trivia Contest Begins Tonight; Stay Tuned to Inside MMA for Details

Tune in to HDnet for "Inside MMA" at 6 pm pacific (9 pm eastern) and log onto www.MMAagents.com news section for entry into the Jay Hieron trivia contest. The first six contestants to e-mail the correct answers to info@MMAagents.com will receive a prize package, including products from Bulletproof Athletics (www.bulletproofathletics.com), Hoodlum Fight Gear (www.hoodlumfightgear.com), Evo Energy Drink (www.drinkevo.com) as well as Gammo-O (www.gammao.com).

All participants must provide a valid mailing address. Please stay tuned to the News section at www.MMAagents.com for a chance to win and be sure to watch Inside MMA to find out when the contest begins!

Contest Rules
To win the contest you must be one of the first 6 contestants to answer each question correctly via email to info@mmaagents.com
The winners must provide a valid mailing address.
The winners will be notified via e-mail.
MMAagents will officially announce the winners.
MMAagents is in sole control of who decides which answers are considered correct. All decisions made by MMAagents are final.
MMAagents will not pay international shipping costs to deliver prizes (U.S. only).
MMAagents reserves the right to disqualify any entrants.

Reminder: Untelevised Jay Hieron Affliction fight to Air on Inside MMA Tonight at 6 PM Pacific (9 PM Eastern)

Press Release

MMAagents.com is proud to announce that Jay Hieron will be in studio with Tank Abbott and Steve Cantwell for the lastest taping of Inside MMA. Jay will help recap Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" card, including his untelevised highlight reel knockout win over Jason High in its entirety.

Tune in to HDnet and log onto www.MMAagents.com news section for entry in a Jay Hieron trivia contest. The first six contestants to e-mail the correct answers to info@MMAagents.com will receive a prize package, including products from Bulletproof Athletics (www.bulletproofathletics.com), Hoodlum Fight Gear (www.hoodlumfightgear.com), Evo Energy Drink (www.drinkevo.com) as well as Gammo-O (www.gammao.com)

All participants must provide a valid mailing address. Please stay tuned to the News section at www.MMAagents.com for a chance to win and be sure to watch Inside MMA.

About MMAagents: Established in 2005 by long time baseball and hockey agent Ken Pavia, MMAagents is an industry leader in mixed martial arts sports management. MMAagents is a full service sports management agency, providing its clients with fighting opportunities, sponsorships, appearances, legal assistance, commission compliance, media relations, fighter branding, career guidance, and much more. MMAagents philosophy is that fighters should worry about training and fighting while their agent handles everything else. MMAagents boasts a roster of over fifty world class mixed martial arts fighters, forty of which are current or former Zuffa fighters. Each client has fought in an elite organization such as the UFC, WEC, Pride, Strikeforce, Pro Elite, Affliction, or the PFC. In 2008 MMAagents clients competed in thirty five different promotional organizations in eight different countries. MMAagents has a staff of nine including a licensed attorney. The MMAagents team works hard twenty five hours a day, eight days a week, to make dreams come true.

For More Information Contact Joe@MMAagents.com

Reminder: Jay Hieron Trivia Contest Begins Tomorrow Night

Tune in to HDnet for "Inside MMA" at 6 pm pacific (9 pm eastern) and log onto www.MMAagents.com news section for entry into the Jay Hieron trivia contest. The first six contestants to e-mail the correct answers to info@MMAagents.com will receive a prize package, including products from Bulletproof Athletics (www.bulletproofathletics.com), Hoodlum Fight Gear (www.hoodlumfightgear.com), Evo Energy Drink (www.drinkevo.com) as well as Gammo-O (www.gammao.com).

All participants must provide a valid mailing address. Please stay tuned to the News section at www.MMAagents.com for a chance to win and be sure to watch Inside MMA to find out when the contest begins!

Contest Rules
To win the contest you must be one of the first 6 contestants to answer each question correctly via email to info@mmaagents.com
The winners must provide a valid mailing address.
The winners will be notified via e-mail.
MMAagents will officially announce the winners.
MMAagents is in sole control of who decides which answers are considered correct. All decisions made by MMAagents are final.
MMAagents will not pay international shipping costs to deliver prizes (U.S. only).
MMAagents reserves the right to disqualify any entrants.

Untelevised Jay Hieron Affliction fight to Air on Inside MMA

Press Release

MMAagents.com is proud to announce that Jay Hieron will be in studio with Tank Abbott and Steve Cantwell for the lastest taping of Inside MMA. Jay will help recap Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" card, including his untelevised highlight reel knockout win over Jason High in its entirety.

Tune in to HDnet and log onto www.MMAagents.com news section for entry in a Jay Hieron trivia contest. The first six contestants to e-mail the correct answers to info@MMAagents.com will receive a prize package, including products from Bulletproof Athletics (www.bulletproofathletics.com), Hoodlum Fight Gear (www.hoodlumfightgear.com), Evo Energy Drink (www.drinkevo.com) as well as Gammo-O (www.gammao.com)

All participants must provide a valid mailing address. Please stay tuned to the News section at www.MMAagents.com for a chance to win and be sure to watch Inside MMA.

About MMAagents: Established in 2005 by long time baseball and hockey agent Ken Pavia, MMAagents is an industry leader in mixed martial arts sports management. MMAagents is a full service sports management agency, providing its clients with fighting opportunities, sponsorships, appearances, legal assistance, commission compliance, media relations, fighter branding, career guidance, and much more. MMAagents philosophy is that fighters should worry about training and fighting while their agent handles everything else. MMAagents boasts a roster of over fifty world class mixed martial arts fighters, forty of which are current or former Zuffa fighters. Each client has fought in an elite organization such as the UFC, WEC, Pride, Strikeforce, Pro Elite, Affliction, or the PFC. In 2008 MMAagents clients competed in thirty five different promotional organizations in eight different countries. MMAagents has a staff of nine including a licensed attorney. The MMAagents team works hard twenty five hours a day, eight days a week, to make dreams come true.

For More Information Contact Joe@MMAagents.com

Hieron Scores a Knockout at Affliction II

Photo courtesy of Sherdog.com

Posted by Sean Frank

Jay Hieron needed just over a minute to score a highlight reel knockout over Jason High in a "swing bout" following the Fedor-Arlovski fight at Affliction II. This marks Hieron's 5th win in a row as he looks to establish himself in Affliction's welterweight division. The future looks bright for the UFC veteran.

Lytle Wins Fight of the Night Again!

Original Content by Sean Frank

Chris Lytle, for the 2nd time in a row has won the Fight of the Night Award. "Lights Out" has become a regular "Fight Bonus" winner and this time he takes home an extra $40,000. Unfortunately, Lytle lost a razor-thin split decision to Marcus Davis at UFC 93. Both fighters, excited about their performances, talked potential rematch after the closing bell. Lets hope they face each other again some time down the road.

Happy New Year!

On behalf of the entire staff of MMA Agents- I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! We hope you continue to support us and the MMA community as a whole.

Sean Frank
MMA Agents

PFC 12 Card to include the likes of Diabate, Professor X, Diego Saraiva

Posted by Sean Frank:

Three MMA Agent Clients are scheduled for the Palace Fighting Championship 12 in Lemoore, California. Talented Striker Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate makes his PFC debut. The Pride and Elite XC veteran will be facing off against fellow Light Heavyweight, Ultimate Fighter Alum Lodune Sincaid. Also scheduled is the PFC and Cage Rage vet Xavier Foupa-Pokam. "Professor X" as he most often referred, will be meeting Kyacey Uscola in the ring. Also on the card, is Former PFC lightweight Champ Diego Saraiva who will be making his return to Lemoore to challenge Jorge Evangelita for the Featherweight title. The drop in weight could help Diego become a 2-division champion.

Johnson Earns $25,000 Bonus for KO of the Night

Posted by Sean Frank:

As expected Anthony Johnson received a bonus for KO of the Night after his performance at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. "Rumble" earned it with a jaw jolting high kick on Kevin Burns, in their highly anticipated rematch. All three of Johnson's UFC wins have come via KO/TKO. Expect AJ to be in line for more KO bonuses with his impressive display of power and striking skills.

Anthony Johnson Exacts His Revenge

Posted by Sean Frank:

Anthony Johnson sure looked recovered from his eye injury in an exciting rematch with Kevin Burns. This time, Johnson left little doubt who the better fighter was in the cage as he knocked out Kevin Burns, with a spectacular high kick early in round 3. The knockout, a sure KO of the Night Winner for Johnson, was "Rumble's" 3rd in the Octagon. Like their previous encounter, Johnson appeared to win the first 2 rounds of the fight, but this time he was able to finish it on his own terms with another highlight reel finish. Anthony Johnson once again has proven that he's a force in the UFC welterweight division.

McCully Earns Big Win at UFC Fight Night for the Troops

Posted by Sean Frank

Justin McCully earned a Unanimous Decision over Eddie Sanchez to up his record to 2-1 in the Octagon. This was a big spot for McCully following a tough loss to top contender Gabriel Gonzaga. This should put "The Insane One" back into contention in the UFC heavyweight division.

Fans Clamor for Baroni-Belfort Match

By: Sean Frank MMAagents.com

Talks on the Sherdog forum and mmasync.com suggest that the fans would love to see a fight between the "New York Badass" Phil Baroni and Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort. Belfort is currently scheduled to face Matt Lindland at 185 lbs on Affliction's upcoming PPV card. The NYBA is undefeated at his new weight class of 170 lbs. Although this would be an exciting fight with potential fireworks, I see Baroni sticking at 170 lbs. Who knows though? Maybe one day they can meet at a catch weight or maybe The Phenom will drop another weight class down to welterweight.

Travels with The Pav: Part II

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

by Ken Pavia on Sep 06, 2008 at 2:20 pm ET

Battles are won and lost in preparation. So much more goes into an agent's work at a fight than just grabbing the shoes ringside, throwing the sponsor shirt on the fighter after the fight, and taking pictures at the after party. This installment focuses on our team's preparation for the trip and the arrival in the first stage of the journey.

Such is Part II of The Pav’s self-indulgent piece, "Travels with The Pav."

The Team

While I recover from the last trip, book a few fights, do some fighter-relations calls, write memos to my staff until 4 or so in the a.m., react to crisis, and prepare for the next trip, my team handles all the details that MMAAgents' (www.mmaagents.com) clients have come to expect -- and rely on us to handle. Our attention to detail and utter devotion to every aspect of our clients' lives are just some of the many reasons why I say with confidence that we are the best and second best agency in the business.

I have a low tolerance for ignorance and error, so I frequently blow people out for falling short of expectations. Julian has survived the longest, almost two years. He is basically our compliance department, and he is doing a much better job than the two people who preceded him in that role.

The job entails booking flights and hotels, corresponding with the promotions to get both promotional agreements and bout agreements signed in a timely fashion after they have been reviewed by legal, coordinating all the commission medical requirements for each jurisdiction (and they are all different), doing the mock-ups for the fight shorts and shirts, supporting the sponsor department, and anything else I dump on his desk as I pass through during the day.

Julian often gets caught in damage control doing things like figuring out how to get Joe Riggs out from a snowed-in airport in Ohio, or making sure Sean Salmon provides all the necessary paper work to the California State Athletic Commission to get off suspension. Funny thing is, the only time his name comes up is when something goes wrong and I freak out. (I kind of like freaking out. Somehow it makes The Pav's day more interesting). It is really a thankless job.

With 51 clients, and 12 to 15 fighting each month, Julian is on call 24 hours a day. This trip was tough for him because of all the one-way flights -- some of which are booked by the promotion -- three different athletic commissions, and my insistence that the office furniture be changed up and rearranged to improve the feng shui before the fights.

Sponsorships

Danny heads up the sponsor department. When he started, I called him "Danny Donuts" because I couldn't pronounce his last name. I still can't. He thought it was a fat joke, so we are going back to the drawing board for a nickname.

Securing sponsors is challenging enough before the poachers move in. There is always the asshole in the fighter's ear saying, "Joe-over-here can get you $1.2 million if you use him." That being said, commissions from sponsors equal a third of our company's revenue.

Monte Cox was the only real option for representation in the early years of the UFC, and he hates doing sponsorships so much that he doesn’t do them at all. We solicit sponsors, have the shorts and shirts printed, provide pictures and sponsor thank-you packets, and invoice them because the revenue generated by them is crucial to our clients and helps them be full-time fighters.

Danny is new to MMAagents.com, but he is solid. While I went on the road, he went to a trade show this weekend to try to get new companies into the business. We have four guys fighting on this trip. I left with the clothes for Martin Kampmann. The rest will be FedEx'd to me on the road once the printing is done. Despite our efforts, at least some sponsor commitments always come at the last minute. We were able to get Martin and "Razor" Rob McCullough both more than $20,000. They are pretty stoked.

Yin, Yang and Counting Beans

Every effective Yin needs a Yang. Nate is my Yang. He graduated top of his law school class, is a licensed attorney, gets up every morning at like 5 a.m. to get his first of two daily workouts in, and is married with a kid in the oven. While I burn the midnight oil, work from the house in the morning and make my way into the office midday to throw things into a state of chaos, Nate runs the staff, cleans up my messes and helps implement all the things I promise.

In the days of preparation for the trip, I painted broad strokes for the appeal to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to have the Anthony Johnson decision overturned -- and had Nate support my arguments with legalese. I also had him write a memo on trademark and copyright law to make sure the cease-and-desist notice we got from the UFC for the pictures on our clients' websites had merit, and it seemingly did.

Nate also spent time cultivating relationships with new fight promotions for our clients that are working their way back to "The Show." Oh, and he is empowered to crack the whip. While I feel I have a strong bond with all of the guys we sign, some of them relate better to Nate. We are very different personality-wise. While I grow the beans, he counts them.

The Pros and Cons of Internship

We also have four interns. Sean is a bookworm second-year law student, and he oversees the MMAAgents.com blog. He is also the point-guy for media requests, which are plentiful.

When Mike Pyle won his Affliction fight in Anaheim, Calif., he decided to stay in town for a few extra days. He called me late on Sunday night and asked where he could take his friends. I told him it was slow, so he said they were taking a taxi to my house, where I was watching Japanese fights on HDNet with my bangin' lady friend.

Well, Mike shows up with three unbelievably hot Russian girls and a buzz. I immediately scrambled for back-up. "Razor" Rob was training for a fight and had a girl in his room already. Tiki Ghosn was an hour away in L.A., Tito Ortiz is married, and Sean was the only one to answer the call.

A bottle of vodka into the evening, I asked Mike how to apply the anaconda choke. He told Sean to get on all fours, and he applied it.

Well, Sean has never rolled before. So when he tapped, he began to tap his own leg. Mike thought it wasn't in tight enough, so he increased the pressure. Before I knew it, Pyle had choked out my intern in front of the Miss Universe Pageant in my living room. To this day I have to hear, "I will get your egg whites, but I didn't sign up for getting choked out. That was not cool dude. That was so not cool."

The other interns -- Tony, Meesh and Joe -- always have stacks of projects. In preparation for this trip, they wrote press releases, picked up sponsor clothes, pulled tape on our fighters' opponents and increased our sponsor and industry databases for news dissemination, etc. While I go out on the road and take all the bows, these guys all bleed with me in support of our fighters' efforts. It really is a well-oiled machine.

The Airport

Three out of every four weekends I end up on the road. Airport survival has become a necessary chapter in the MMAagents.com how-to book. I have come to learn that:
Most airlines now charge $15 per bag that you check in and $25 if your bag weighs more than 50 pounds. This sucks when you are transporting wardrobes of sponsor clothes, banners, fights shorts, and corner attire to every event.
You can't get healthy food in airports. Sorry, it just doesn't exist. Pack your own food, or you will end up looking like a baseball umpire in no time. (My life-preservation reflex kicked in and prevented me from telling a Ricco Rodriguez or Gina Carano joke there.)
Airport personnel are immune to negotiation or reason. I pride myself in the use of the Jedi mind trick that always works on $10-an-hour security guards or nightclub doormen, but airport employees are immune. This leads into my next story.
Some time ago every Nazi in America was hired to work security checkpoints in the airport. From personal experience I can tell you every belt I own, my business card holder, and my phone set the metal detector off. Tripping the metal detector twice gets you frisked, and it is a same-sex frisk only. Shoes must come off, so I have acquired slip-ons for all weather for travel. Also all liquids more than three ounces, including bottled water, are not allowed past security.

These new regulations often create damage-control situations. An unnamed athlete decided that he did not want to dispose of his travel supply of marijuana before boarding the plane. In all his brilliance, this guy decided to hide his weed, which is not allowed on the plane, in his bottle of water -- which of course is not allowed on the plane. Needless to say he got pinched.

The worst part was he was on his way home. All I could think as I was being informed was, "If you like pot that much, maybe you should probably have some at your house." He probably should have pled guilty to being stupid. True story.

The Westin and Randy

The fighter hotel for this event is the Westin. It has 73 floors and is one of the nicer ones we have stayed in. My room was on the 40th floor, but Mr. Jackson -- who happened to be in my pocket -- got me upgraded to the 70th floor. The view from my window makes me feel like a Colombian drug lord. This is the first time the UFC has come to Atlanta, so there is a buzz, and the lobby is packed with fans trying to get a glimpse of a fighter.

Randy Couture is in Martin's corner with Shawn Tompkins and me. I have known Randy for a few years and represent a number of the guys at his gym. I can say with no reservation that he is a genuine and quality guy. It is not an act. He hasn’t forgotten who he is or how he got where he is.

Last week he resolved his differences with the UFC and has agreed to return. As if it wasn't bad enough before, the attention on Randy is magnified now. Every time we have to venture out of the rooms, we have to consider the best route for Randy so we don't get stuck while he kisses babies and presses palms.

In preparation for his fight with Brock Lesnar, I was able to get him to invite two of my guys -- Josh Hendricks (who is fighting Gabe Gonzaga on the same card) and Jake O'Brien -- to come to camp with him. He needs big wrestlers. He also has extended feelers for two of my guys to participate on his wife's promotion in Las Vegas on Oct. 11.

I broke bread with the camp, and Dann Stupp from MMAjunkie.com joined us late. We sat across from my good friend Ed Soares -- who manages and translates for just about every Brazilian in the UFC -- and traded friendly barbs throughout. I actually knew Ed before I represented any fighters and he ran Sinister clothing. Good people.

After we ate we came back to the hotel to watch Martin break a sweat and then hung out in the lobby for a spell. While still with Dann, I bumped into agent Monte Cox -- with whom I have an on-again, off-again rivalry. I introduced him to Dann and told him they have a lot in common.

I said the torch has now been passed and MMAjunkie.com is now second in MMA traffic, while he is now competing to be the second-best agent. He made some comment about there should be a height requirement to represent fighters, and I said something about him looking like he ate Rich Clementi. We laughed -- me confidently, him uncomfortably -- and we parted ways.

Stay tuned for Part III: "The Weigh-Ins and the UFC."

(Pictured: Glamor and glitz on the road? Not so much. As client Martin Kampmann works with coach Shawn Tompkins, Pavia deals with the travel headaches from the WEC's canceled event.)

Ken Pavia is a frequent MMAjunkie.com contributor who also runs MMAAgents.com, one of MMA's biggest sports agencies and one that represents more than 50 top-level MMA fighters. "Travels with the Pav" is designed to give readers a behind-the-scenes look as a handful of fighters (and their agent) prepare for fight day. New columns will be available every few days. Pavia's views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of MMAjunkie.com and its staff.