Sancho Lladós Sanginés |
Madrid (EFE).- The WOW 8 evening attracted more than 3,000 people at the Palacio de Vistalegre in Madrid, an event with a budget of more than 100,000 euros. Giants like Netflix, Warner Bros, LaLiga and Eurosport have already set their sights on mixed martial arts (MMA). They follow the business model of the UFC. “It’s not just punches.” David Balarezo, CEO of ‘The Way of Warrior’ (WOW), gives EFE the keys.
The capacity increased by almost 60% over expectations, it was an unprecedented event in Spain. They follow the example of the UFC, a company bought by the WME-IMG company in 2016 at a price of 4 billion dollars. Double what Magic Johnson paid for the legendary Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011.
WOW 8, played on March 4 at the Palacio de Vistalegre, was a business and sporting success. In the cage, the former UFC fighter Enrique ‘Wasabi’ Marín and Álvaro Ucendo, champion of Spain and runner-up in the amateur world, shone. Mixed martial arts are in the spotlight. Its ninth edition will also be held in Vistalegre.
Balarezo highlights the value of the narrative, as the American company does, to move away from that idea that the fighters are simple “pieces of meat.” They seek to show “the sacrifice, the training, the day to day, the diets… is what we try to convey. That’s what you have to focus on.”
“We believe that it is essential to break down some entry barriers so that people know the added value of this sport, it is much more than two people competing at the highest level, it is not just about blows”, he emphasizes.
Among the shareholders, profiles as disparate as Eva Leire and Yolanda Serrano appear. Two of the most outstanding casting directors in Spain and a fundamental part in works such as ‘La Casa de Papel’ and ‘8 Basque Surnames’. The agreement with Warner Bros. Spain was also key. They chose the WOW8 octagon to promote the premiere of Creed 3, their last big blockbuster.
Urban Roosters is also another of the main ‘partners’. It is the only company that has managed to gain a foothold in the world of cockfighting between giants like Red Bull. All production is carried out by Mediapro and they currently have the support of LaLiga. The evening could be enjoyed live on LaLiga Sports TV and it will also be seen on a delayed basis through Eurosport.
“Eurosport had never broadcast the evening nationally. Probably the next events we will also be with LaLiga” Balarezo assured EFE and then added: “They are aware that the sport is booming.” For the organization this has only just begun.
WOW was born from the mind of David Balarezo Montes ‘Bala’ in line with a scenario in “precarious, in almost all conditions” and to provide a place for mixed martial arts in Spain. “We are a small team, but very well coordinated, we are very well surrounded, we have very valid investors”, he warns.
They want to go beyond sport and grow through other business channels. Bets on the audiovisual. “We know that the way this works is to add value, first of all to the athletes, the user and the entire ecosystem,” she warns.
They take care of their fighters. Their medical equipment costs “three times more than usual” and they don’t settle for just an ambulance like at other events. “We have a normal one and a medicalized one, an anesthetist and a specialist traumatologist, Mikel Aramberri.” he underlines. Arrambarri, in addition to being a WOW shareholder, is a doctor for the Spanish rugby team and a former doctor for Real Madrid’s first team and currently in the youth academy: “There should only be 2 or 3 at their level in Europe.”
Sportingly they want to get closer to the elite. They have fighters “almost agreed” to be fighting at the end of the year in a Dana White’s Contender Series” – the main showcase to enter the UFC-. They also focus on working on the foundations of the sport. Together with the Spanish Fighting Federation, they organize the regional championships, which qualify for the European and world championships of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF).
“We are not going to stop working on the grassroots sport, we are going to continue with WOW Talent, the federative events, and the idea is that the star events continue to be maintained and even increase them,” he assured.
They want to create “a quarry to export fighters to the UFC”, probably “the ‘Champions’ of this sport.” “Our idea is to consolidate the position we have as the benchmark MMA company in Spain, by fighters, events and figures, continue working and scale at a European level and try to explore other business avenues”, he highlighted.