American Fight League

The American Fight League rolls into the ATL with its "Bullet Proof" MMA event to be held on Friday, May 30th at Phillips Arena. See "Fight Time at Philips" elsewhere on this site for a preview of the festivities. Tickets are available through the Ticketmaster website.

The AFL was formed by John Hatton and "BJ" Santiago who now serve as Chief Production Officer and CEO of the league, respectively. Hatton, a rakish promoter type, and Santiago, the button downed "suit," have put together a plan to organize the proliferation of competing mixed martial arts promotions that have exploded across the country. They intend to build a true "league" – complete with its own logo, trademark, point system and stable of fighters. What they hope to do is bring a degree of unity, commonality and recognition to the "farm system’’ that currently feeds the "major leagues" of MMA, the UFC and WEC.

In Georgia alone, there is a dizzying array of promotions, promoters and events across the state. It’s difficult just to keep track of events, let alone fighter and promotional affiliations. Rather than add to the mess, Hatton and Santiago have a different plan. In Hatton’s words, despite the scrappy, competitive nature of promoting fights, they "want to be friends with everyone." They have created a network of what they call "associate promoters" around the country that hold shows for local fighters. As AFL affiliates, these promoters receive marketing and merchandising support and have the opportunity to become part of a national network of associate promoters and fighters. As the AFL builds a strong stable of fighters, they will "lend" them to the local promoters to strengthen their card and build ticket sales.

Cooperation, rather than competition, is not the only way the AFL plans to be different. AFL fighters have a formal "code of conduct" and are required to do charity work during the week of a fight. It’s an effort to humanize fighters and MMA in an era not far removed from the "human cockfighting" nonsense of the nineties. GeorgiaMMA.com had the opportunity to ask a few questions of Jon Hatton, founder of the AFL, during its recent "Rooftop and Ringside event in downtown Atlanta. A strapping six footer with a Fu Manchu mustache, the personable Hatton could be a bouncer – or a salesman like he is. He spoke to GAMMA’s Jim Terwoord:

JT: Jon – first, let me thank you for bringing the first MMA event ever held in Phillips Arena. It’s about time. Can you tell us why you chose Atlanta and about the Georgia connection that has numerous local fighters on the card?

JH: Sure. First of all we are looking for markets where we think we can be successful. BJ Santiago spent eight years in Atlanta and felt it was underserved in terms of quality MMA promotions, particularly downtown. That, coupled with the fact that there are 6 million people in the metro area helped us make up our minds.

JT: And all the Georgia fighters?

JH: That was a direct result of the efforts of Tony Metcalf, one of our associate promoters who has been promoting fights in the Atlanta area for some time. We are always trying to sign associate promoters and they are often standoffish and wary of our motives in suggesting a partnership. Tony immediately got it – he understood the concept and wanted to be part of it. Since he has a solid grasp of fight talent in Georgia, he helped us with the match making. Hopefully, "Bullet Proof" will benefit the AFL, Tony and every MMA fan in Georgia.

JT: Have you been successful with promoters in other parts of the country as well?

JH: Yes we have. The Tapout magazine article helped us a lot. We are talking to new promoters in Oregon, Chicago and Ohio.

JT: Sounds good! How does it feel to be the first organization to ever hold an MMA event in Phillips Arena?

JH: We’re very proud of it. When we first set our sights on Phillips, we weren’t aware they hadn’t hosted an MMA event. We hope that this will be the first of many events we hold there.

JT: What are you hoping for in terms of attendance? It’s got to be expensive just to turn the lights on in Phillips. Do you have any numbers in mind?

JH: Well, we’re hoping for a minimum of 8,000 but we really think we can do better. The largest crowd for a non pay-per-view MMA event is 12,000 and we certainly think that’s possible.

JT: Speaking of pay-per-view, several of your fighters mentioned a possible pay per view event in their interviews with us tonight. Can you tell us more about that?

JH: Yes – our long term goal is to hold a PPV event at Phillips Arena in October. We’d like to come to Phillips a couple of times a year and think that a PPV event will certainly keep the ball rolling.

JT: What are you planning to do to promote the fight? I know this is your formal kickoff promotional event. What have you got planned in terms of a media campaign?

JH: Well, as you can see there are representatives from radio station 790 "The Zone" here tonight. We were on the air there today. We’ll be on 680, "The Fan" as well. We are also buying radio spots and will be on 94.9, "The Bull" and others. Comcast is here tonight and we’ve taken advertising space in a Brazilian magazine here in Atlanta because we have a number of Brazilian fighters in the AFL.

JT: Great – what about HDNet fights or "Inside MMA?" Any hopes there?

JH: HDNet Fights has already done one of our shows. I know both Kenny Rice and Ron Kruk from Inside MMA. I hope I can get them to give me a plug!

JT: Can you talk a little about the logistics of an event like this? I have met many of your support people here tonight and am amazed at the breadth and depth of the team it takes to pull off an event like this. I met one gentleman who handles only your clothing products.

JH: Well, you’re correct – a fight event like this is a major undertaking. I once sat down and made a list of the people it took to do an event like this successfully and it was about 130 people. I’ll be here the entire week before the fight working with the people at Phillips and attending to all the details. It’ll be a hectic week.

JT: Jon thank you for the time. We certainly wish you and the AFL all the best and look forward to covering the fights. Good luck!

Jim Terwoord

GeorgiaMMA.com