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| XFC President John Prisco |
There are several MMA promotions out there trying to make their mark in the industry. Some promotions try to go head-to-head with the accepted biggest promotion on the planet, the UFC, and some try to put on the best show possible for fans, fighters, and everyone involved. I would put the XFC in this second category, and it is also my opinion that the promotion is a solid #2 in the food chain & I say this because they are expanding their territory & and always seem to be innovating what they do when other promotions might be pulling back in what they are doing & focusing too hard on what the UFC is doing,
Earlier this year XFC President John Prisco had to deal with a stroke when his promotion was gaining momentum after several successful events being broadcast on AXS TV. Another situation he had to deal with was having XFC Lightweight champion Nick Newell decide to not renew his contract & just walk away from the promotion. Neither of these things seem to have effected Mr. Prisco in a negative way. He seems to have taken it in stride & bounced back stronger than ever.
I appreciate that when I was allowed to submit some questions & I was told that nothing was out of bounds to ask, so I tried to go beyond the normal questions I ask of fighters. John Prisco is someone I look up to, and I believe he is doing MMA the way it should be done, unlike some other promoters out there today.
Recently John took a stand when a female fighter on the roster went a bit too far in her Twitter war with a fighter who has fought for the XFC in the past. I applaud him in his attempt to keep the perception of how fighters interact with each other, even if they don't like each other.
This Friday the XFC is putting on their next event, XFC 26: Night of Champions III in Nashville, TN. On this STACKED fight card are two title fights as well as XFC veterans like Luis "Sapo" Santos & Jason "Ronin" Hicks in action plus hot female prospect Hannah "Shockwave" Cifers. I posted on Facebook that I could see this event setting ratings records for AXS TV's fighting events, and I stand by that comment. This fight card is loaded with exciting fights for fight fans to enjoy... and it's on FREE TV!!!
I appreciate John Prisco taking time out of his very busy schedule to answer a few questions. When I posted a "wish list" of people I would like to interview on Facebook, Mr. Prisco was definitely in my top 5. Of the 20 or so names I posted he was the first to respond, saying he was up for being interviewed. I contacted TJ Alcock of the XFC and John was amazing in how quickly he responded to my questions. I'm sure he was busy with at least a few dozen things regarding XFC 26 that was fast approaching, but within 24 hours I had the material that became this interview article.
For everything he has done to make these last 3 interviews possible, I give a huge "THANK YOU" to John Prisco & the XFC! I hope you enjoy reading the responses as much as I did putting this article together. Here's 10 Questions With XFC President John Prisco.
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
John Prisco, President and Founder of XFC (Xtreme Fighting Championships)
2. How did you get involved with running an MMA promotion?
Quite a long story, most of which you can find on our website. The short and sweet: Love sports and MMA, the ability to make a living doing what I love is a blessing.
3. Tell us a little about the XFC.
We do shows in Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Mexico and soon to be Michigan and South Carolina. We've traveled to Greece and are planning more International shows as we speak.The tryouts are a process of elimination for over 200 fighters. All weight classes, both male and female are encouraged to attend. We start the morning off with our trainers pushing the fighters through intense cardio and workout drills. By noon, we are well under way and fighters are rotating through stations, testing all aspects of their MMA skill levels. Each fighter is scored appropriately and cuts are made throughout the day. By the evening, we move into sparring with the remaining fighters. At the end of the day, the strongest talent in the room definitely shines and that person is awarded a 5 fight contract with the XFC, to fight on national television. Several other fighters may be awarded a 1 fight contract to fight on an undercard of a future show, so we can see them again (to try and prove themselves further).
We also make sure we talk to those who don't make the cut, so they know what area's to improve. It's all part of a belief that the best fighters in the World are still undiscovered and the Next Generation of Fighters are even more talented than the past.
Our next tryouts will be January 25th, 2014 at Charleston MMA. Registration is up on beafantickets.com - All fighters welcome!
4. Earlier this year you had suffered a stroke. How is the state of your physical health today, and what has going through this experience taught you?
Yes, I did, taught me that I need to slow down a little, which I have. I work non stop, the stroke cured me of that, in a weird way it probably saved my life.
5. Also earlier this year Nick Newell chose to not defend his XFC Lightweight title and is no longer with the company. If you had a chance to "do over" the situation, would you? If so, what would you do differently?
Would not change a thing, I was not given a choice. It is unacceptable to me to have a champion refuse fights within the organization, I would handle it the same way if it happened once again.
6. Scott Holtzman became the XFC Lightweight champion back in June and is set to face Roger Carroll at XFC 26 (Night of Champions III) on October 18th. How excited for this fight are you & what should fans/viewers expect from this fight card?
If Roger shows up well trained and as solid as he can be, it will be a great fight. I know how hard Scott prepares and if Roger does not train for the type of non stop intensity Scott brings to the cage it could be a short night. Roger has a ton more experience, a black belt in Judo and JiuJitsu, he certainly has the tools to derail the train called Scott Holtzman
7. Bellator MMA recently disbanded its women's division. How will this benefit the XFC, and what is in store for women's MMA in the XFC?
We have female title fights starting to happen, so it is an exciting time for us as always, we love the female division and will keep expanding the female divisions.
8. What has been the best/your favorite XFC fight?
Scott Holtzman Vs. Jason Hicks, what a fight that was. Jason was the first fighter to truly test Scott, enjoyed that fight very much.
9. If you could match-up any two fighters for an XFC fight who would you like to see fight?
Junior Assuncao Vs. Scott Holtzman. Junior once held our lightweight title prior to going to the UFC and dropping to featherweight. That might happen one day and it will be fireworks.
10. What is the next big thing for the XFC?
Our expansion into Latin America and much more TV exposure, more network coverage.
Is there anyone you would like to thank?
My Staff, they are the best in the business!
The XFC will be live streaming the XFC MMA 26 weigh ins Thursday at 5pm on USTREAM! Thanks to their friends at LocalMMAonline.com
Tune in to AXS TV Friday night at 9:00PM Eastern time for XFC 26: Night of Champions III, and you can make your picks using the AXS TV Fight App:
Tune in to AXS TV Friday night at 9:00PM Eastern time for XFC 26: Night of Champions III, and you can make your picks using the AXS TV Fight App:
XFC 26 FIGHT CARD: (subject to change)
Main Event Lightweight Championship:
Roger “The Leperchaun” Carroll Vs Scott “Hot Sauce” Holtzman (Champ)
Co-Main Event Women’s Flyweight Championship:
Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey Vs Pearl Gonzalez Flyweight 125lbs.
Jason “The Ronin” Hicks Vs Deivison “Dragon” Ribeiro Featherweight 145 lbs.
Justin Davis Vs Luis “Sapo” Santos Catchweight
Hannah “Shockwave” Cifers Vs “Hurricane” Heather Jo Clark Strawweight 115 lbs.
Luke Sanders Vs. Zach “Thunderwood” Underwood Featherweight 145 lbs.
Undercard Prelims
Nate “The Train” Landwehr Vs Keith “Rockstar” Richardson Featherweight 145 lbs.
Gerric Hayes Vs Nate Jolly Welterweight 170 lbs.
Ben Brewer Vs Anthony Lemon
Kenny Degenhardt Vs Brian Hall
Jason Gifford Vs Mario Scott
Cromwell Stewart Vs. Willie Taylor Jr.
