Thanks Mark for a great article. I hope to meet you in person eventually. Premier FC 2 was good as far as the fights were matched. There were a few bumps in the road that will hopefully be resolved before PFC3 at Max Capacity. My article will be available soon on my take of PFC2, but for now I hope everyone enjoys reading this article and will subscribe to your column regularly.
A Western Mass. brand of MMA, PremierFC debuts
Preparing for her first show, Karyn Wesch has virtually sat through every Massachusetts State Athletic Commission meeting. She noticed a disturbing trend - fighters turning pro without amateur experience.
The owner of Need2Bleed Fightwear turned manager turned promoter, Wesch has made helping fighters a priority. So when her promotion, Premier Fighting Championships, debuts Saturday at the HippoDrome in Springfield, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see all amateur matchups on display.
“I got a little frustrated listening to how many people were 0-0 going pro, who never fought amateurs,” Wesch said.“Meeting after meeting, listening to people’s fight cards over and over again `0-0 never fought amateur, 0-0 never fought amateur.’ I think you deserve and earn that right to be a professional fighter.
“To do that, you have to step in that cage and have what it feels like to be in that cage with someone else in there to beat your (butt) in front of a lot of people. If you’ve never felt that, how did you earn the respect to be a professional? You need to take those steps.”
PremierFC will be the only local promotion based in Western Massachusetts. Wesch wanted to give fighters from that part of the state and from Connecticut a chance to fight closer to home. This show is the pinnacle for Wesch and her plan which started with Need2Bleed four years ago.
“In my mind, there were steps I wanted to take when I got involved with MMA. And part of being an asset to fighters, I think I need to make that step,” Wesch said of becoming a promoter. “I became an asset to them by being able to sponsor them and give them money. I got to know the sport. I got a lot of contacts and got to know the promoters. I think that makes me an asset to be a manager. Now it gives me an asset to give them an
opportunity to grow on the sport.”
Wesch had her first hiccup when her headline matchup - Seth Larue vs. Tyson Chartier - got scratched after Larue broke his leg. Even so, the Connecticut native has been upbeat and unstressed throughout this process leading up to her first show. Saturday’s card will feature 15 fights with amateur fighters throughout New England.
“It’s been awesome. There are a lot of people who seem stressed out in this game, but it’s really not stressful. It’s actually fun,” Wesch said. “I really think my matchmaker, Jason Franklin, has done an amazing job. He is very honest. He’s not setting up fights to give someone an easy fight. These are really well matched fights. I think everyone is going to
see that.”
–mdaniels@bostonherald.com