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Jeff Osborne on the state of women's MMA and his Nov. 6 women's HOOKnSHOOT event By Joe Hall FCF: Why haven't you done a women's show since "Revolution"? JO: To be honest, the DVD tanked the first eight or nine months. I was just disappointed and disenchanted with the whole thing. We did throw a women's match here and a match there. We were trying to get two on every card. We did a few cards like that, but I just got to thinking all these women are fading away. Christine Van Fleet joined an elite group in the military; Debi Purcell is pursuing things overseas; Judy Neff was injured. All the top stars were kind of slacking off. As soon as that show was over, people were starting to disappear, and I just didn't think I'd ever be able to do it again. And now, all this emerged and it just went crazy. It just happened all of a sudden, and I have never been more pumped for a show like I am now. It's over three months away, and I'm having trouble sleeping at night because this is all I think about. FCF: How do you think women's MMA has progressed since "Revolution"? JO: For that being the first women's show ... I think their skill level was beyond what the men's was at the first several UFCs. I think it's going to be a lot better this time. A lot of the women are really excelling at grappling, and on this show I think you're going to be surprised. In the (main event bouts), the women are very strong, very in-shape and very heavy with their hands and feet. I think it's definitely progressed. There's always room for improvement in anything, including men and women. FCF: A few weeks ago you announced the main event, Megumi Fuji versus Erica Montoya. JO: Yeah, I'm looking at three or four main event type matches. Megumi Fuji is somewhat of a celebrity in Japan. She does pro wrestling; she does Smack Girl; she's also a national sambo champion and has won all kinds of tournaments in grappling. Of course, Erica Montoya is one of the best female grapplers in the world, and she's much more experienced in MMA, so that's going to be interesting. FCF: You've mentioned the outside interest in the November women's show. Tell me about Playboy's interest. JO: They didn't think it was real. Of course, they've seen all the catfighting and the fake women's apartment wrestling. The people who have gotten the ("Revolution") DVD and have watched it are just amazed. In fact, there's a film being made right now about women in boxing and just for research, a guy in Hollywood got "Revolution" and was floored. He said before he knew it, there were 20 or 30 people over at his house watching this thing, and they couldn't believe that it was real. And that these women were real people; they're educated, they're intelligent, and they're from every walk of life. Playboy is more than likely going to do something. Femme Fatale magazine, which is like a women in powerful roles in Hollywood (type of publication). Like Halle Berry, I think, was just on the cover for Catwoman, stuff like that. They just did a DVD review (of "Revolution") and I think it got a pretty positive review. FCF: How did Playboy and these other magazines contact you? JO: I was just told to send everything I could to one of the editors. I don't count on anything until it actually (happens). Like the Femme Fatale thing, he just e-mailed me the other day and said they have a DVD review coming out. I wasn't even aware of it. I just made sure he got the package I sent. Hopefully it sells some DVDs, so I can raise money for the show. FCF: You also said MTV was interested in the upcoming show. Who contacted you on their behalf? JO: I believe it was a guy named Brandon, and I believe he helped produce some of the "Real World" or was somewhat involved in some of the "Real World" production. He had e-mailed me a couple months back, saying they were working on a project and they wanted to attend the women's show and get a behind-the-scenes look at things, and possibly cast for an upcoming television show. But I haven't had much communication with him in the last three or four weeks. Whether or not it happens .... FCF: Has there been any other mainstream interest? JO: I don't have the resources or the people working for me to really solicit those things; but the few people who have contacted me, all the people we've talked to have been very responsive. I don't know why that is, but I think it's growing. I think there's more room for women MMA on television than there is for men. I wish the UFC the best of luck in this 13-week run, but I think there's much more room for the women to get on TV than the men. FCF: Anything else? JO: I'm trying to take it to DIRECTV. They weren't very optimistic about women's sports and pay-per-view. The track record speaks for itself on Amazon.com. "Revolution" has outsold many of the UFC titles, and, in some cases, still ranks above some of the UFC titles on Amazon. I know ("Revolution") draws a wide array of audiences. Like the fight fans, pervs, a little bit of everything. If they see it and they become fans of the actual sport and the women who make it, I don't care. Then I have both their money and their respect. ... ... If I could sell DIRECTV on putting it out on tape-delay, I'll definitely do it. The only people who are going to know about it is our little circle around the world who read the Web pages and magazines. So if they see it on DIRECTV two weeks later, they're not going to know it's tape-delayed. And again, I'm not hitting the shrinking group of MMA people. I'm hitting people who don't follow the sport, are not into the sport, but as far as the entertainment value, they'll check it out. But we'll see what happens with pay-per-view. I'm working on it. Everybody else has talked a bunch of crap over the years about how they got it, and they fade away like a puff of smoke and you never hear from them again. FCF: If you had to give a percentage, how likely is a DIRECTV deal? JO: I'd say 50/50. I mean, I'm optimistic, but I'm not overconfident about it. I'm not going to get all cocky and say it's looking good. It's a 50/50 shot, but I'm willing to take it. I think it's a very buyable pay-per-view product. FCF: So you've already had contact with them then? JO: Yes, yes I have. Stuff is already in the works. It will air in Japan also. The Japanese, I think, were interested in following (Megumi) Fuji for the entire weekend, just as a documentary type thing. FCF: How will this November show compare to the women's shows being held in Japan? JO: Smack Girl, I think, is good for what it is. I really like to watch it, but I'd say a big majority of it is grappling. Grappling is not going to sell the sport of MMA. It's proven in many, many circles that unless the grapplers are willing to take a risk, the people will not watch it. They will turn the channel; they'll walk out of the room. I think that's the big difference in what I think we're going to produce and what some of the other shows overseas are producing. There's a lot of-I hate to call them frail women-fighting in some of those shows, and they're not really complete fighters. They're more grapplers. I want to see the complete fighter. FCF: Anything else fans should expect in November? JO: I could see myself making 12 women's fights on this show if sponsorship keeps up. I've gotten more sponsorship on this show than I have in the last two years. I wasn't this pumped for the first (women's show) and I knew it was going to be good; I knew it was going to be great. But this one, there's just something different about it. I just feel like it's evolved so much. I'm going to put a lot more into production values and all that good stuff, just to make it come off. I have an incredible opening in my mind right now. I can't wait to pop the buttons on the pyro board for it. I don't even trust the actual pyro technician to do it the way I want him to do it. People call shows like HOOKnSHOOT a "B" show. I don't want this to come off as a B-show, and it's not going to. These women, in my mind, even if some people call them "B" fighters, they're coming out with an "A" show. I know they're going to fight their assess off. Official card as of Aug. 6
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