Search the Community

http://mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14411996131963.gif Ahsan Hamed (8-4) 145/155 lbs (8 KO/TKO) Former ROV Lightweight champion Former Omega Fighting Featherweight champion Interviewer: Today, well be having a chat with a rising fighter from our beloved Manchester - Ahsan "The Emperor" Hamed. Nice to meet you, Ahsan. Ahsan: Nice to meet you too, Dave! Dave: I saw an article about you in a newspaper and thought you are quite an interesting fighter with some nice achievements on this young age. Me and the fellas watching this on TV are really interested in how you got to the point you are now, as a fighter. Where have you found your love for the sport, and how did this all begin? Ahsan: What kind of article was it? I'm quite a self-loving person, I'd like to see the stuff they write about me as well! (laughs) Umm, where did this all began... Actually, my beginnings are not that spectacular, probably 60% of fighters began their careers this way - I was a skinny 13 year old boy with an attitude and no ability to back up the shit I talk (laughs). So, after a few encounters with the guys I didn't really liked I've decided I need to do something else after school than just float around the streets of Manchester with my friends (smiles). I had a classmate who was doing Karate and soon enough, I appeared to be standing next to him in the dojo in front of my first Karate instructor. Dave: But here we are now, and you're a mixed martial arts competitor. How come it so that you ended up fighting in the cage instead of fighting on the tatami? Ahsan: When I was 15, a guy that was doing MMA came to our dojo for some additional training, as he was preparing to fight some guy who had a Karate base, so he needed a sparring partner. It was summer, so most guys we're having fun, skipping a lot of sessions and stuff, and there was only 5-7 guys in the dojo each session. Not much to choose from, so, as I was weighing around 130-135, and the MMA guy was fighting for Flyweight, the coach decided I could do a few rounds with him. We got along quite well, and I was amazed by what he can do to me during sparring. Of course, I was catching him sometimes with some unexpected kicks from Karate, some Bruce Lee shit, you know? (laughs) But once he got near me, I'd get flattered by a controlled flurry of punches, or sent flying with a takedown, and that would make me feel like a bum. I got hooked with MMA, so... When I became 16, I made the transition and went where my heart led. Dave: And there your MMA career began - you have secured 5 knockout wins in a row under the banner of ROV and won ROV Lightweight Title. Ahsan: Fuck, those were the days.. (laughs) I'll be honest - I have absolutely cleaned the division there and there was no legit contender left for me. WIth the money I made in my early career, I started a business, I now own a food truck which is selling kebabs, burgers and all that shit I shouldn't be eating (laughs). By the way, best burgers in Manchester, I swear to god, if you're watching this show, you must go and try them out. You'll swallow your own tongue! I demand all the viewers to pack their shit up right after this show ends and flock to Hamed's Street Food as quickly as possible! (laughs) Enough of advertising my business, let's continue on advertising me (Dave laughs). I went to other organizations looking for the pot of gold, and I went up to fight a champion of some other organisation, Vinny Bronson, an undefeated submission artist. He was the Welterweight champion back then, but I could care less - I went for a superfight, and, badly, I got submitted quickly. I went on to Primal to lose to some hillbilly in there, and I was in rage. There came the decision to come back to ROV and defend my belt for the second time since a new legit contender arose, and guess fucking what - he submitted me in the first as well. This is where it got to me that BJJ is a part of MMA as well you know (laughs) A bit too late, wasn't it, Dave? (laughs) Dave: And then came the 3 fight win streak in which you became the Omega Fighting Lightweight champion? Ahsan: Yeah, I decided I need to switch to Lightweight, because I felt I had a bit more of a speed advantage there. None of these guys fucking bothered me there - I butchered all of them by KO, and went my way. It's kind of like the belt was on the table, I just had to stop wanking, get of the fucking couch, walk to the table and strap it on me. The only guy I thought could give me problems was Vyrkyx Dall, and, to be honest, he did. He submitted me in my last fight and took my belonging. After that, he vacated the belt, and here we are - I'm fighting for the belt in my next fight. Dave: And how do you feel about this opportunity to redeem yourself? Ahsan: It's a nice feeling, no matter what anyone else says. Dall went running, and it's not my concern to try to catch him there. If he does as good as me, we'll be at the pinnacle of our division, and we'll meet again. As of now, I'm focused on regaining the title and seeing to what kind of big fights it leads me to. Dave: What are your plans for the future? Ahsan: Get known, get rich, get every achievement possible in MMA, and leave MMA as the greatest inspiration for others. Right now, in my plans I have a mission to become the Trinity World Featherweight and Lightweight champion of the world. I believe it's the #1 organisation in there, and that is where I will reside in the near future. Dave: We're out of time, any lats words for the fans? Ahsan: Right after you stopped chumping on my delicious burgers, go to the betting station and put your fucking house, wife and children on me. There's never been a safer bet than that - I'll reclaim the belt in extraordinary fashion. Tune in and watch the motherfucker get murdered in the cage on October 15th, folks!

http://oi64.tinypic.com/2yukmeb.jpg Trinity is looking for a new belt for the org that we feel is unique from the rest out there while being a perfect fit for the org as we look to cement ourselves as one of the premier orgs in the game. There is no limits on number of entries by designers, but we are looking for the belt to be unique and different to all the others. Prize for the winning entry will be $500k, and the competition ends on the 1st February. Best of luck to all designers entering.

http://mmatycoon.com/images/company/logo/1440094913Troid_Epicity.gif Troid EP Press Conference *With no prior warning of one happening, Troid EP is hosting a Press Conference on short notice apparently due to a ground breaking announcement. Grant Brophy makes his way out to the stage, greeting the press gathered, before taking up his position, with the Troid EP logo on a big LED board behind him. After a drink of water, he composes himself before addressing the media in attendance* http://mmatycoon.com/images/manager_avatars/1452400681BaA6ZLyCAAAcD5g.jpg GB: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our press conference. Rest assured, the reason for this conference will become apparent soon, but I do want to have a brief word about the event on Friday. It was a monumental event, breaking almost every record we had in the org, and launching us to an all time high of #3 in the world. We are delighted to see our hard work pay off, and with the upcoming events we have, our confidence in remaining a top level org is sky high. Now, this org reopened just over 2 years ago now, and there was a buzz as a lot of people remembered the Troid from back in 2010 to 2012. The level of success we have achieved was unthought of back then, but thanks to both our own hard work, and the help of those around us, we have made it. One of the reasons for our success is something I feel doesn’t get enough credit. About half a year ago, we had our fighters, but we were hitting a stagnating point. Then we had the merger with Epicity Productions, and the org became Troid EP. Since then, we have hosted the ITFL tournament, The Winter Olympics, and successfully moved up to the 90k seater arenas as well as running 3 hour PPV’s successfully. I’d like to introduce the man that helped to make that a success, Ryan Epicity! http://mmatycoon.com/images/manager_avatars/1449900278psy%202.jpg RE: Thanks Grant, I hate to say generic stuff as you all well know but damn this has been a helluva ride and a crazier rise than I woulda dare dream up. I mean, to think at one point we would be sitting at #3 in the world, no matter how small the time is just... well let's just say it gets me hype. It gets me damn hype and hype is what it's all about focus. I'm here to preach to hype, I'm here to live the hype and god dammit... Sometimes I am the hype. GB: Okay, we can take a quick couple of questions before we move on. J: Grant, you started running the org with little to no experience, pretty much learning as you went along. What would you say was the biggest challenge for you as an org owner trying to build up the org as you learnt going along? GB: Well there are always a number of things you gotta learn. Efficient matchmaking, arena bookings, negotiating contracts, all that stuff is important. Honestly, from helping new org owners where I can now, I think I had it a bit easier to begin with, despite not necessarily having as much funds as they do now. We got a system sorted quickly which has led to people taking to the org well, and we have a bunch of fighters in the org who were there from 2013 which shows we are doing something right. I would say financial management was the biggest challenge, of knowing when to invest in arenas, when to save money for contracts and such. When you are trying to build up an org, cash is king, and luckily we are now in a situation where we can afford to invest in whatever we feel we need. J: And now a question for Ryan. You merged your org with Troid, and it is seen by many as the point in which the org started to sky rocket. From your perspective, what was the merger like, and how have you found the org to be since joining as the Co-Owner? RE: I'll try and keep this on track as I usually get sidetracked when talking about this but 2 years ago when I joined the game I quickly became transfixed on starting my org, I wanted this org to be different from the others. I wanted this org to stand out from the rest and be judged by a completely different scale. I came up with the idea of Epicity Productions which was essentially non-profit (actually I ran it at a great loss of cash to myself) with the idea I could supply newer fighters with higher pay checks than they would normally receive at their age I hoped this would become an attraction point to new managers and maybe even some older ones as well. The concept was flawed of course but EP was never about making money, it was about growth. It was about growth for the org and growth for the fighters in a faster pace than usual. In this sense Epicity was a success. In a much shorter time we were competing with Insanity over roster and ranking and I even managed to hire Hoarse who became the sensation of the forums for quite a bit. Sadly all good things must come to an end, me and Grant had been talking about and agreed on a merger down the road and the timing became just too ideal. I am husband and a father and in my current situation and future plans I didn't have the time or energy to run an org by myself so merging with Troid jumped from the ideal option to the perfect option. I wasn't able to transition all of the fighters I wanted but as such is the reality of mergers. Me and Grant were happy with our product going forward and as you can see today, it has become quite a fine roster. I must say most of the credit has to go to Grant who has done an amazing job with running the org while I have been focusing on my family and getting my life jumpstarted to the next level. Whether you like him or not personally, there's no doubting the guy knows how to run a successful org. Troid EP has become a solid top 5 org recently and we even placed 2nd in the Olympics. I couldn't be prouder. This is the org I want to be in moving forward and I'm looking forward to the day we hit No. 1 and people realize that the Hype is real... As Kurt Angle would say... It's damn real. GB: Alright, now it’s time for what we came here for. Luckily for us, this information never broke in public before now, and it means we can announce it properly, but first, I would like to introduce to the stage the owner of Insanity in Los Angeles - John Hetfield! http://mmatycoon.com/images/company/logo/1440094913Troid_Epicity.gifhttp://mmatycoon.com/images/company/logo/1440612731giflogo4best.gif *The LED board now changes, showing the Insanity logo alongside the Troid EP logo. John Hetfield walks out to address the gathered media, in typical fashion you would see when he would make an Insanity announcement* http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff495/UntouchGFX/Hetfieldforumpost_zps1a201bea.png JH: Thank you Grant for the introduction. A lot of you may wonder what I am doing here.. But before I get to that, I just want to say it is great to be here. As most of you would know, Grant and I have had a great working relationship and have wished each other nothing but the best in achieving the top of MMA with our orgs. When Troid took on Epicity and became Troid EP, they certainly made a leap with the new talent and new possibilities with Ryan joining the force behind the org. I like to think Insanity kept up and still remained right on the same level as Troid EP. Both orgs have tremendous amount of talent, and great management teams behind that talent. And the reason I am here today, is to ensure a future for that talent. To work towards the #1 spot and be part of the best org around. Now you wonder, which org is that? Troid EP? Insanity? Well to be honest – neither. And that is because of a major announcement that is moments away.. J: Wow, this certainly is a surprise. We can only assume this means a deal between the two orgs then? GB: This is not a simple deal between the two orgs, no. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that Troid EP and Insanity will not just be working together, they will merge together to create one org, one identity, which myself and my two partners hope will become one of the biggest orgs in the world. J: My word. I just have to ask John on his thoughts on this, and ask him about Insanity as an org and it’s history? JH: Insanity has been more than an org to me. It has been such a huge part of my life, I feel I spend more time working on creating what Insanity is today, then I spend with my loved ones. Haha, okay, maybe I was able to balance that out pretty damn well.. but all I am saying Insanity has become a part of me and it something I will forever hold dear to my heart. We had a great run, we become bigger than I expected, and faster than I expected as well. I can’t take credit for that alone though – There are so many talented fighters that been there from the start, that are still here today. Fighters that have represented Insanity beyond the call of duty. I cannot thank them, and their management teams enough for the loyalty and all they have done for Insanity. Insanity will have its own place in history, and I hope that everyone that has followed the org, and been a part of the org, can look back with a smile on their face and embrace the new changes with open arms. The ultimate destiny has not changed, we will continue working hard to take that #1 spot. We have only begun.. and the future is very bright for all of us. J: Thank you for that great response John. Now, with the news breaking that the orgs are merging, and with a slight name change to reflect when Epicity Productions merged with Troid, can we expect to be seeing a name change in reflect Insanity merging? GB: The whole Troid EP concept was just so simple, it was the easiest transition to make, and it made the most sense. Now, it’s hard to input a name like Insanity into it, as it would be pretty lazy to name an org “Troid Insanity EP”, and it makes us sound like we are releasing a random album. We spent a long time thinking of this, but when we thought of it, it was the most obvious answer in the world and it was so fitting for it. Ladies and Gentlemen, we will no longer be known as Epicity Productions, or as Troid, or as Insanity. With the 3 orgs coming together as one, we will honour that synergy as we announce a new brand for the org. John, Ryan, if you would be so kind as to show our guests what I am referring to. *John and Ryan both access the laptop on the stage, and after a 3, 2, 1 countdown both press a button which sees the Troid EP and Insanity logos fade from the LED board only to be replaced by…* http://oi64.tinypic.com/2yukmeb.jpg GB: I would like to thank you all for attending this press conference, but we have got shit loads of work to do now with the org and we wanna get everything squared away, so you can enjoy Ryan and John signing us off. RE: Always always... Embrace the hype. Live the hype. Feel the hype. LIVE THE HYPE! We are Trinity... And we are 3x the HYPE! JH: Thank you all for being present for this massive announcement. Trinity will be reaching the top, I am sure of that. But no matter where I go, where I am, I will make sure that things will remain insane. See you guys at the first Trinity event! *All three men walk off the stage amidst a huge outburst of questions from the media who are desperate to learn more about the org. The men don’t answer however, as the Trinity logo fades to replaced by the words “The Hype Is Real”*