All Things MMA Tycoon

[Guest]

So I've decided to make my own blog dedicated to this game and all other things MMA. I will write about general MMA stuff, hot topics on the boards and in game, and I will also do features on managers, organizations, events, and fighters.

 

My first feature is now up. Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. I will be working on the formatting and what not but I want to see if this thing actually generates any interest before putting too much time into it. The link is below, and also here.

 

Also, if you want to do an interview or feature on your org, hit me up.

[Guest]

I have decided to post these on the forums instead. First interview with Paul Dengel is below.

 

 

Interview with Paul Dengel

 

 

I’ve been a member of ACME-St. Petersburg for a few months now. We have a great group of managers and we have recently merged with ACME-North America so we are all under the same banner now. We give each other advice, compete amongst ourselves, and just shoot the proverbial shit from time to time. I’ve been associated with ACME in some way since I started playing this game. I had just purchased VIP, and I get an e-mail from Paul Dengel inviting me to build a welterweight for a tournament in MKFC. Since that day, I have been involved with his organization as a manager, a writer, and one-time owner of the new feeder org, ACME-DEVO.

 

 

Paul Dengel has bailed me out of many predicaments, mostly of the financial nature. I’m not the smartest guy with money, and when it comes to Tycoon money, I’m even worse. He’s a solid org owner, having run MKFC:Revolution for two years this September. That’s quite an accomplishment for anyone. I figure who better to tackle for my first piece than the person partly responsible for me continuing to play even after I went 9-17 last year.

 

 

Anyone who has a fighter in an ACME org, be it CEC, MKFC, ACME-Montreal, DEVO, or that one down in Sydney that I can’t remember the name of, knows how active the owners are with previews, recaps, and just the day-to-day stuff. They have generally good satisfaction ratings, and most managers I’ve talked to seem to enjoy their time with ACME. That above anything else seems to be Paul’s goal, for himself, and his fellow managers. Fun. It’s a strange concept in the twenty-first century online community, but fun still does exist.

 

 

For those of you unfamiliar with MKFC:Revolution, they are currently the #3 ranked organization in St. Petersburg, and #60 worldwide as of this writing. They were ranked higher until the start of Hardcore League Combat this past weekend which featured quite a few fighters with virtually no hype or experience. They have traveled the globe, showcased such events as the ACME Bantamweight Tournament, Color Wars, There Will Be Blood, and the aforementioned Hardcore League Combat. When it comes to innovation, MKFC:Revolution is right near the top. With their recent merger with Vicious Fighting Championships, the future looks promising.

 

 

The Improvements section of the forum is an interesting place to visit. You’ll see some very good recommendations and some real head-scratching ones too. One new improvement that was recently implemented, one that I can at least take partial credit for suggesting, is the Anonymous Feedback form. If you haven’t checked out that fun little feature, it’s located in your fighters’ contracts section. You can pretty much say whatever you want, without the owner knowing who you are. It’s a mixed bag so far, some people like it, some people hate it. Some owners could care less, while some managers like to address their feedback. During my sit-down with Paul, I addressed some recent feedback that came across his inbox.

 

 

So let’s start with this. “ This organization has recently hit a steep decline in terms of enjoyability. Despite having been a long time member, I will likely wait until my fighter's contracts are finished and then moved on. A number of members within the org agree that it has likely simply become too large, and as a result you (Paul) have lost touch with a number of your members, and this once close-knit community has fallen apart.”

 

That has to sting a little bit. Maybe I’ve had the blinders on, maybe I’m showing a little bias, but I’ve been here for about a year, and I can’t say I’ve noticed any major changes. I’m sure you were a lot smaller starting out, did you enjoy it more, as some of the managers seemed to? Was it easier to run an org when you weren’t so big?

 

When I started the org I did not know what I was doing, folks like Mega Therion and Comte gave me advice as I was constantly in chat. Initially my goal was to not go broke and to do the best write ups/previews in St Pete. I started with two divisions and then grew from there. Unlike a lot of rosters that carry retired fighters and long time inactives – I do not do that I cut them. I don’t think we’ve change negatively in fact I think I have become more ambitious in doing things that others have not tried or at least not done successfully. I guess some managers are not happy, I try to please but it’s impossible to make everyone happy. The tourneys, Hardcore League, world events are there to keep me interested and focused on keeping the org fun. Anyone can just plow out show after show and get paid – what’s the fun in that?

 

Do you think you’ve been over-ambitious? I believe you’re the only org to have run a PPV in St. Pete. You’re probably going to be the first org to host events in every city. What cities are left? Rio? Sydney? Hilo? Do you think maybe that would be what caused you to “lose touch” with so many members?

 

The PPV we scheduled before I financed a gym – the event lost a ton of money as has the gym. We went from a good place financially before that PPV to really struggling to survive for several months. Thankfully some of the high hyped/pop fighters stayed with us – again a testament to the loyalty of the managers here. The world shows despite their big ratings are not financially viable – they all just barely eek a profit or lose money plus the constant fear of guys not making the host city. We have four cities left. I am taking a break in June to bring MKFC home to St Pete but our next travelling show will be in Rio in July. As far as losing touch, there are some managers that are not quite as active as some – I like to get fight cards locked up within three days of listing an event so maybe I am inpatient but after three days I offer fights elsewhere. Also guys with really low hype/pop I have offered to move to DEVO where they will be more active- fight lesser competition and get the same pay – I’m not sure why more guys don’t jump on that if they don’t think they get enough action here.

 

Last summer, Dengel decided it was time to fill up his welterweight division. Some owners find that a simple way to add depth to a division is to host a tournament. So with that, Color Wars was born. Two teams of eight guys squared off each other, and a winner was eventually crowned in December of last year. MK Ultra, who went on to be the MKFC Lightweight champion until recently. The first version of the tournament produced some solid gate-keepers who still compete today, Tyler Durden, Maddy Bunga(recently moved down to DEVO, and until recently, my own guy, Mike Daniels. The second version started earlier this year, feature featherweight fighters. That final takes place later this month, Officer Franklin and Jesse Parker will square off. The other participants have either retired or are competing in ACME’s feeder org, DEVO.

 

 

Color Wars, I’m assuming this was first created to add depth to a relatively thin division. Clearly the best thing to come out of Color Wars was MK Ultra. The two finalists in the featherweight tournament also look very promising. Other than that, most of the competitors have either retired or at best become gate-keepers. Would you dub the concept a failure or do you think it served its purpose? Will there be another Color Wars tournament in the future?

 

The initial color wars was utilized to fill a completely new division. This was a fun series and the majority of fighters continues here after they lost in the tourney because the division was so even. The problem with any subsequent series would mean that once the tourney was done, chances are the majority of newer creations could not hang with our established talent. Thankfully DEVO became a home to a number of fighters from the MKFC tourneys and maybe we will see them back some day. Ultra is a beast and we are happy to have him on our roster; in fact, he will represent the MKFC in June fighting on a super card over at SAUNA (you heard that here first). We have the finals of the latest Color Wars coming up between lightweights Officer Franklin and Jesse Parker as the co-main event of Hardcore League Combat 3 – but no I don’t forsee another Color Wars tourney here … DEVO maybe but not here.

 

Your merger with Vicious Fighting Championships: Revolution has looked pretty seamless to the casual observer? Have there been any issues come up yet?

 

The only issue was with a non-VIP manager that did not understand we book events out a month or more in advance. This understanding was also prior to the full closure of VFCR so Otto was not here to smooth out any confusion. All the pieces are in place now and I am hoping for s successful future.

 

MKFC 150 is looking good already. Is this the Champion vs. Champion card?

 

At least six belts will be contended for on MKFC 150 and we are working on two potential super fights. I have one fighter confirmed just need the rest to get permission from their current organizations. As for the remaining two “open” fights on the card I am waiting to see what makes the most sense before filling those slots. Regardless this should be the biggest card in MKFC history – if I had the extra $300k laying around I would make it a PPV and give these fighters some additional hype/pop but that’s a lot of cash to piss away and I am just not comfortable doing that.

 

You recently had to strip the bantamweight champion, Biff Rydberg. What is the plan for MKFC 150? How will you decide to fights for the title?

 

For the first time in our nearly two years we have had to strip a champ. I have offered a fight for the vacant title and one of the parties has accepted, one former VFCR fighter is still a hold out or chances are e would have been in the mix as well. The SHW belt will not be on the line at MKFC 150, other than that there is nothing definite.

 

Have anything else to add about the Rydberg situation or have you said your piece?

 

Rydberg is contractually obligated to fight for the MKFC. For the next 167 days he rides pine unless he agrees to fight; but a title opportunity will not come again … ever.

 

Hardcore League Combat got off to a pretty good start this past weekend. What does the end-game look like here? Will this just continue until people lose interest? Or will this be a seasonal thing?

 

We have 8 alliance based teams now of 18 year old builds. I plan to introduce 2 or 4 new teams to build July 1st and join the action after 6 weeks of training on August 15th. These new builds will be 19 so hopefully will be on an even keel with the guys that are already in the league. I imagine some teams may fold out or build replacements; but I doubt this could continue beyond the age of 21 for any of these fighters. That said, fighting bi-weekly for nine months … some sick beasts could come out of this thing and move to bigger orgs or if we are lucky to the main roster. There is the potential here for a fighter to go 18-0 … though I am not sure how this will play out as I don’t have anyone contracted that long (of course). So to answer your question – the most new teams added to this will most likely be 6 – and we will not add new teams once all fighters are 21. Maybe we will start over at that point – haven’t thought that far ahead.

 

All these projects. The world tour, Color Wars, HLC, There Will Be Blood, are these just things to keep you interested in what you’re doing? I’m sure it would get monotonous to just book shows week in and week out. Are you just trying to fight off boredom or are you really trying to be the most innovative manager/owner in Tycoon history?

 

I have had my fighters in orgs that lack innovation; in time I move those fighters. I am not a very good manager in regards to my personal fighters but I want to see write ups, recaps and some exciting ideas come out of the orgs I fight for personally – or I move my guys. Pay to me is not a high priority – can my guys afford good gyms, supps, clothes? If so then what the hell do I need the extra money for … I want to be entertained – and that is how I approach MKFC. I did a worldwide bantams tourney that we held all over the globe with 32 bantamweight fighters – that was pretty epic. I don’t know what I can do to keep being innovative for now I am focusing on the Hardcore League … once Otto and I can crunch some numbers and line up some financing maybe everyone will see another sick concept come from us. I love that ASTRAL (Tokyo) has a K1 division, I love what TC (ACME Montreal) has been able to do in a very hard market. Last week three ACME orgs were in the top 20 at the same time – I am not the only one working hard to make a quality org and happy managers; I would like to think we (ACME) are all on the same page.

 

What is your favorite thing about MKFC: Revolution?

 

I like opening up the game for the first time each day and seeing 15-20 messages immediately. Guys just throwing ideas/thoughts/concerns/feedback at me. It shows that I have a good bunch of managers in the MKFC – the vast majority of which are ViP’s. When I look at a roster and I see FA’s, Retired fighters, a ton of inactives and non-ViP managers … I think twice about signing there. The roster here is active and it is made up of quality managers. Fear of the small market has kept many good fighters from considering St Pete – I hope we have changed some guys minds.

 

What is your least favorite, most challenging thing?

 

I have two kids (7 and 4) – they play hockey, do cub scouts, train in kick boxing and BJJ. I work from 3am-1pm Tue-Sat and find an hour or more to run/swim/train myself every day. I have a small window of free time that I stretch to get on Tycoon. I spend the most time on here doing previews on Mondays – but as I have been training for a triathalon my time has gotten shorter as my Monday milage has increased. Time management has been the bane – but with Otto coming aboard to start building cards and working contracts I should be better able to focus on the writing and the future concepts.

 

Give me your thoughts on the alliance merger between ACME St. Pete and North America.

 

We knew going in that we would lose a few St Pete guys if we merged with the North America crew. The argument some guys made was that we would be too big and unmanageable – and stop sharing as much in chat. Despite my claims to the contrary we did lose two guys. Initially the idea was to open a branch in each city but that does not work if you can’t properly communicate and interact. By bringing it back under one banner we can refocus – make sure our businesses are in order and working well – and hopefully help each other succeed with our fighters.

 

Going forward, where do you see us in a year? Will you still be active? Will MKFC:Revolution still be around?

 

I don’t see leaving the game – I enjoy the hell out of it. I would hope the ACME alliance and MKFC:Revolution would continue to put on quality shows and be thought of as one of the best in game – even if our rating does not reflect it.

 

Word association time. Just answer the following with one word. If you’d rather not answer any one of the below, just say “No Comment.”

 

ACME - partners

 

Joel Nicola - fraud

 

Paul Dengel - bastard

 

Syn - elite

Mike Tycoon – aces!

 

Biff Rydberg - joker

 

Kaban Demidov - Goliath

 

Buck Futter - friend

[Guest]

Interview With Mr Jobber

 

Diablo Escovar, Jacky Chan, Alex Caine, Paul Bradley. All those names are associated with success. For the majority of people in this game, they dream of some day reaching the pinnacle, to grab that number one spot and hold onto it for dear life. Some managers have been criticized for not rightfully earning their top spot. We’ve all heard the names, so there’s no need to say them here.

 

But what about the other end of that spectrum? What about the guy on the bottom? What about a guy who has, as of this writing, amassed 370 losses as a manager, 370 losses without a single victory until recently. What drives him to keep playing?

 

You probably all know who I’m talking about by now, but for the uninformed, I’m talking about Mr. Jobber. He has reached legendary status to some people around this community.

 

Recently, Jobber, for the first time in history, was out-jobbed. His fighter, also named Mr Jobber, notched his first professional victory over Hamza Nabi. A fight Jobber himself described as “A back and forth of fails.” I was lucky enough to nab an exclusive interview with the manager earlier this weekend.

 

So after almost four hundred fights, how does it feel to have notched your first victory?

 

Well it was quite a suprise actually. I never thought that I would ever win. I guess it is just something that was bound to happen sooner or later, just needed to to wait 'til someone copied me.

 

You’ve gained kind of a cult-like following around the Tycoon world. You’re one of the most talked-about managers, although not for the reasons one might expect. Have anything to say to your fans and haters?

 

Well to my fans all I can say is keep on fighting me, lets see if I can hit match number 1000, and to the haters I don't see why you are hating, your fighters are gaining wins and I am not breaching any rules so there is nothing to hate on.

 

There are several theories out on you. One, you’re really some tactical genius who is trying to figure out all the intricacies of the fight game, and once your fighters start training, other managers will have to face off against some tactical wizard. Others think you’re a multi. There are a lot of idiotic purists out there who think you are “bad for the game and should be banned for doing it wrong.” I’m not in any of those schools of thought. I just think you are who you are. But just so we’re clear, what exactly are you?

 

Well I wish I could say I was a tactical genius but I am only doing this for fun, I guess it started just to get fights as often as possible, I have played other games where there are lots of jobbers and thought I could carry the 'legacy of jobbing' to MMA Tycoon, I am not a multi accounter I don't see how I can be accused of being one where you can see who I am fighting every time, maybe in the future I will have to try training my fighters. I mean I have enough money to *laughs*

 

 

Have you learned anything from all these losses?

 

Not really I have just gained a fan base and a sense of achievement. *laughs*

 

 

Do you get a lot of harassment from other managers for your record and play-style?

 

Never harrassed simply asked why I am doing it, or a congradulations from other managers.

 

What was the key to Mr Jobber picking up his first victory over Hamza Nabi? Do you think Nabi was purposefully trying to out-job the jobber, or did you just have the right formula to beat him?

 

I Looked over at Nabi's stats and he was simarly built with his stats and I think he was trying to out-jobber me the match was just a back and fourth of fails.

 

 

Where exactly is Jobber City in Somalia? What’s the population? Recommend any resteraunts?

 

Well Beleive it or not Jobber City isn't really a City in Somalia, GASP! *laughts* I had to get all my creative juices flowing to think up that name so as you can probably tell *smile*

 

 

Where do you see yourself in a year?

 

In a Year? I really dont know, maybe I will be training by then and trying to win or maybe still jobbing, you just got to wait and see I guess.

 

Word Association Time. Just answer the following with one word. If you don’t want to say, just say no comment.

 

Mike Tycoon - Creator

 

Joel Nicola - Never heard the name sorry

 

Hamza Nabi - Jobber

 

QFC - MyPlayground

 

All in all, Jobber is who he is. If there is a method to his madness, he sure isn't spilling. Maybe this time next year, he will just be your average manager. For now though, when you queue your fighter in the QFC, you pray to see his name. You breathe a sigh of relief, knowing your odds of success are pretty good. But if there's one thing we learned this week, it's that every jobber has his day.

[TK]

[Guest]

Awesome work! I love reading things like this it makes the game a lot more fun

[Guest]

Thanks for the kind words. I've already gotten an offer from a fellow writer to help with this and do some features, so if it gets enough steam and generates enough interest I may dedicate a site to it.

 

It's just something to do for fun. Hope some of you enjoy it.

 

I have even reached out to Joel Nicola for an interview, but he has yet to respond. C'mon Joel! I'm fair and balanced!

[Guest]

I'm loving it bro. Great work. The Jobber interview was brilliant!!! I'd love to see more of this kind of stuff. I hope you keep it going man.

[Guest]

Well done. Only thing I would suggest from reading the first interview is that sometimes you reference things that people who haven't been around Tycoon for a long time might not know what they are ... A little more background in those cases might be nice. Thanks.

[Guest]

Well done. Only thing I would suggest from reading the first interview is that sometimes you reference things that people who haven't been around Tycoon for a long time might not know what they are ... A little more background in those cases might be nice. Thanks.

 

Cool, I'll try and remember that. I'm just a very self-involved person, I just assume everyone knows what I'm talking about. But I'll try to be more considerate!

[Guest]

This is excellent, I'm surprised I didn't see it before!

 

Great job

[Guest]

better get a real job!

[Guest]

Good stuff, Duff.

[AlexiZaitev]

very nice work

[LamarCard]

Keep up the work. Always nice to come in a see interviews like this. Well done

[LanceTempleton]

This is truly AWESOME! Love stuff like this, thanks!

[Guest]

Thanks guys. I had intended to keep this going and I'm sure there will be more stuff in the future. I kind of have ADD with certain projects, don't like spending too much time writing one thing.

 

Still waiting for Nicola to get back to me...

[jacky67]

Great blog ,

 

I really would like to see Nicola answer to any interview .

[sergio]

Joel Nicola - fraud +1

[marioufc420]

great read, can't wait for the next interview.