How To Monetise Yourself As A Fighter!
We all know that fighting alone is unlikely to pay the bills, unless you hit the big stage. Many elite, world class combat athletes work full-time jobs. It’s a sad state of affairs that this is the case, but hopefully the tide is turning, with more eyes coming to combat sports. In the meantime, how does a fighter monetise their skills?
BE EXCITING or, at the very least, BE INTERESTING!
For the most part, fans want exciting fights. The purists will love technical battles and there's nothing wrong with trying to absorb minimum damage and win by points. However, don’t forget that punters come to see fights. Therefore, you need to showcase your full range of skills and fight hard until the very end. You may find a way to win by standing off your opponent for 5 rounds, but if all spectators are chatting and on their phones, it doesn’t do your PR much good. On the other hand, heavy punches and lethal low kicks get people off their seat quickly, no matter what their understanding of the sport is.
BE ACTIVE
Fighting regularly does have its drawbacks. Camps can be expensive, can increase your risk of injury, and it can be harder to get friends and family to cough up for tickets if you’re fighting every other month. However, more fights can help you build your profile on the circuit and increase your skills and understanding of ringcraft, leading to a better chance of headlining shows. It’s all about building your profile, and the best place to do that is in the ring.
USE INNOVATIVE NEW PLATFORMS LIKE BOKST
The first of it's kind, BOKST is looking to revolutionise combat sports ticket sales. For fighters, this means grabbing a profile much like Facebook or Instagram, making sure your fight record and details are looking great, and being ahead of the game while promoters start to use it to sell tickets and source fighters as they grow their promotion. When they do, you can use social media and any other platform to share your profile link, sell more tickets, and get paid your ticket commissions automatically! Quickly claim your profile or download the app and sign up by clicking here
BE SEEN ON SOCIALS
You have a massive opportunity to build a fan base thanks to social media. Post your training, mini vlogs, nutrition, and fight highlights to your socials often. Oh, and KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL if you want brands to be attracted to you. By all means, be yourself, but keep your political views, foul language, and risky jokes out of it! It doesn’t matter how talented you are, brands will not link up with you if you don’t maintain that professional image. Why not write a blog detailing your journey? Once you have an audience on social media, reach out to relevant small businesses and offer your services to promote their products.
SELL YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
To teach is to learn twice over! Consider investing in a training or coaching qualification and selling your skills. There are so many people desperate to keep fit by doing something different. Fortunately, pad work and combat fitness classes are just that, and you’ve got the ability to do it better than most.
WIN FIGHTS
There's not denying it, if you keep winning you're going to start making some money. That's because you'll start getting matched on bigger and better shows across the country and beyond. Network well with promoters and these opportunities may come quicker.
Final thoughts
These are just a few ideas that we think could help most fighters build their personal brands and ultimately make more money. Sadly, the bottom line is that if you’re in the sport to get rich, you’re probably in the wrong place. You absolutely have to love the sport. And if you do love it, there are ways to make a living in combat sports whilst you’re on your way to the top.
Good luck!