June was certainly a busy month for mixed martial arts. Busy enough to let an interesting story slip through the cracks.
It came courtesy of the Canadian-based Maximum Fighting Championship, who announced last month they had inked a deal with 16-year-old MMA sensation Alexi Argyriou.
That’s not a typo, folks. Argyriou cannot go to a theatre and see a movie rated ‘18A’ (‘R’ equivalent) for two more years without a parent or legal guardian present.
It’s an unprecedented move in this ever-changing, evolving sport. For the promotion, it is also a proactive investment in their future.
“He is the No. 1 draft pick,” stated MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich (via press release). “We have the best young fighter anywhere now in our organization. I can’t be any more succinct—he is the future.”
Pavelich continued, “And not only is he a superb athlete, he is confident, he has great charisma, and best of all he is someone who brings that intangible quality of being able to hype and sell a fight. That is such a huge commodity and it jumps right out of him.”
The catch is that North American sanctioning bodies require that a fighter be at least 18 years of age to compete in a professional manner. As a result, the contract is provisional in nature and will only kick in when he reaches the required age.
Currently, Argyriou is honing his skills at the ZUMA gym in Vancouver, British Columbia under the watchful eye of head trainer Adam Zugec, who is responsible for molding Sarah Kaufman into the 135-pound Strikeforce women’s champion.
Zugec, like Pavelich, is confident that Argyriou will eventually develop into a star.
“No question about it —this is not a kid who’s going to get in there and get nervous. I absolutely see big things for him,” said Zugec. “I see him already with some similarities to (Jose) Aldo. His ground game is good, he’s a strong wrestler, he’s got good hips, and he’s hard to take down. No one really knows how good is ground game is yet because no one can get him down. And he can punch and kick so well.”
Jose Aldo, for those who do not watch the UFC sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), is their current 145-pound featherweight champion. Furthermore, at the tender age of 23 he is already arguably a top five pound-for-pound ranked fighter in all of MMA.
The comparison is high praise coming from the well-respected Zugec. Not only does Argyriou appear to have the physical tools and skill set needed to succeed, but also the proverbial “it” factor needed to promote and carry a fight card.
According to Zugec, “He’s grown up in the MMA scene and he just gets it. He understands the whole role like having the entertainment value but also being able to back it up. He’s a sweet, good-looking kid that you wouldn’t think can do some of that showboating type of stuff but he does. But he’s so tough. He trains and spars every day with some real bad-ass guys and he has absolutely no fear.”
The move by the MFC may be unique to MMA, but it’s far from a foreign concept in other major sports like Major League Baseball.
MLB scouts have scoured Latin America for years searching for young talent outside the framework of the normal draft structure. In the past year alone the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees have shelled out serious cash to free agent “bonus babies.”
The Cardinals gave a reported $3.1 million signing bonus to 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo (later voided due to a failed physical). The Bronx Bombers, on the other hand, gave $3 million to 16-year-old catcher Gary Sanchez.
Nobody can say for certain that Mateo and Sanchez will develop into productive professionals, let alone future stars. The same can be said for Argyriou.
There are numerous perils that come along with listing “fighter” as your profession. Injuries are almost inevitable due to the sheer nature of training and combat. The physical toll is incalculable.
There is also a chance Argyriou simply never pans out the way he is currently being projected. For every Jon Jones there is a Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou who has not lived up to lofty expectations.
The bigger issue is whether or not a precedent has been set that other major promotions such as the UFC and Strikeforce will look to adopt in the future.
For Pavelich and the MFC it is a low-risk venture to undertake. It creates an immediate, albeit tempered buzz in the MMA community and with fans. Corporate sponsors will likely also take note and continue to follow both the organization and Argyriou as an appreciable asset.
In contrast, the UFC is an entirely different beast. Engaging in unnecessary risk is not a component of their business model.
Their management team can lie in wait as the industry leader while young fighters get experience in smaller promotions and then pounce on them once their contracts have expired. They can offer a combination of monetary gain and allure that nobody else can match.
While it is doubtful plucking underage talent becomes an impactful trend in the sport, it is conceivable to anticipate a similar narrative being released periodically from smaller promotions attempting to nip at the heels of the larger promotions.
The MFC's recent business transaction is a noteworthy caveat in a sport that has progressed to the point where young athletes are now stepping into the fray on day one with well-rounded arsenals saturated in all the necessary disciplines.
“The times they are a-changin,’” as Bob Dylan once crooned.
Now sit back and survey the landscape as the talented prospects “superman” punch their way out of the woodwork.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4191 ... -jose-aldo
