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Ex-MMA Matchmaker Explains Difficulty of the Job<\/p>\n
Former MMA<\/a> matchmaker Rich Chou gave fans a rare look into matchmaking and balancing a roster for a major promotion. Chou revealed that the most difficult part of the job had little to do with the fights or fight nights.<\/p>\n Instead, matchmakers face daily pressure to keep track of contracts, injuries, and balancing each division. In doing so, the promotion can begin mapping out its schedule and identify which markets to host events in.<\/p>\n Chou revealed that dealing with fighters behind the scenes was the most difficult part of the job.<\/p>\n \u201cBehind the scenes, matchmakers, we\u2019re having to hear about everything that the fighters are not happy about. Whether it\u2019s not getting a post on their birthday from the Instagram account to \u2018Why am I fighting on this?\u2019 We have to deal with it all,\u201d Chou told\u00a0The Game Plan<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s not as simple as just this guy fight that guy, it\u2019s dealing with everything that comes with the fight world. Managing expectations, egos, attitudes.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued:<\/p>\n \u201cMatching fights is the easiest part. I assure you, the hardest part is cutting the deals and managing the roster and trying to keep everybody somewhat happy or satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n Rich Chou Explains Matchmaking Process in Bellator<\/p>\n Balancing a fight card can be difficult, especially for an MMA promotion like Bellator, when it tried to generate more interest. While there, the promotion capitalized on nostalgia for the main events, while also showcasing its young stars on the undercard.<\/p>\n Former matchmaker Rich Chou<\/a> explained how the cards would often be structured.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery spot is important, every fight is important, and you ideally want those to accomplish something. Early on in the card, you may have a few local guys that are there to help bring the crowd in and sell some tickets, and put on an exciting fight,\u201d Chou told\u00a0The Game Plan. \u201cThen, we would have spots on the card committed to developing prospects. Another fight that is there to develop a contender. There\u2019s a method to the madness.\u201d<\/p>\n He added:<\/p>\n \u201cPutting some really big names at the top and maybe they\u2019re not in their prime, so to speak, but there\u2019s just a ton of name recognition,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody knows those names like [Ken] Shamrock, [Royce] Gracie, and Kimbo Slice. And that\u2019s really to attract the mainstream audience.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chou Reveals Ex-Bellator Champ Patricio Pitbull Understood MMA Matchmaking Decisions<\/p>\n Chou also revealed that sometimes fighters are not too happy with their slot. However, that was not the case with Patricio Pitbull<\/a>, who expressed his gratitude.<\/p>\n Chou noted that Pitbull was grateful for the opportunity to compete on the same card as Slice. The Brazilian was the reigning featherweight champion but his fight was the co-main event, while Shamrock vs. Slice<\/a> was the headliner.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was one time Pitbull was fighting under Kimbo [Slice]. He said, \u2018I totally get it. I appreciate what [Slice is] doing for me. He\u2019s bringing more eyeballs to my fight than I\u2019ve ever had before. And so, I\u2019m not offended by it. I understand the business aspect of it. I understand how that benefits me and the rest of the card,\u201d Chou told\u00a0The Game Plan.<\/p>\n He added: \u201c[Pitbull] was thinking like a promoter then. Not every guy thinks like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tGiancarlo Aulino<\/a> Giancarlo Aulino is sports writer who covers UFC for Heavy.com. He began writing for Heavy in 2025 after providing MMA coverage for Sportskeeda. Giancarlo is an experienced journalist and interviewer, having covered soccer clubs Toronto FC and Inter Toronto FC as a full-season reporter, and also producing sports coverage for Toronto radio station VIBE 105.5FM.
\n More about Giancarlo Aulino<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Ex-MMA Matchmaker Explains Difficulty of the Job Former MMA matchmaker Rich Chou gave fans a rare look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-679367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}