MMA Hype Promotions (406k) news history

We've had the pleasure to meet with our 145lbs #1 contender, Francisco Garcia. This has been a long time coming, we've been watching him very closely for the past few months, and we're very happy to see him finally fighting for the title.
The 145lbs division at MMA Hype Promotions has been hot since the very first day, but lately has been the target of some controversy. Nevertheless, in less than a month from now, we're going to crown a new champion and move from there.

Here is Jared Asante with Francisco Garcia.

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Jared Asante: Francisco, you’ve built quite the hype ever since you first fought professionally. There’s not many fighters who start at that level, especially at the age of 16. Was it hard to start at such a young age?


Francisco: Hard? Not at all. I was born to do this. While other kids were playing video games or going to parties, I was grinding in the gym. Starting young just gave me a head start to prove I’m better than everyone else. Some people call it pressure—I call it destiny.

Jared: We’ve seen you excel in pretty much all aspects of the game. Do you work hard on your strategies during training camp, or are you more a “go with the flow” type of guy?


Francisco: Strategies? Sure, I work on them. But the truth is, I’m better everywhere. My opponents can try to plan all they want, but it’s like playing chess against someone who already knows your moves. When the cage door closes, I just do what I do best—win.

Jared: You’ve won all your fights in the first round, and against some very good prospects. You are the #1 contender in the 145 division and will take on #2 contender, Geordi La Forge, for the title. What does this mean to you?


Francisco: It means what we’ve all known from the start—I’m the future of this division. Put anyone in front of me, it doesn’t matter who it is. They’re all placeholders. The belt belongs to me, and I’ll show the world why when I step in there.

Jared: Do you plan on fighting in the 145 division all your career, or would you be interested in either going up or down a division at one point in the future?


Francisco: 145 is my home for now, but let’s be real—I’m not just here to dominate one division. I’ll move up, maybe even down if I feel like it. Wherever the biggest challenges or biggest paychecks are, that’s where you’ll find me.

Jared: Going back to your first fight, you got knocked down and rocked early in the fight, but managed to survive and knock out your opponent a minute later. Even though the fight only lasted 2 minutes, was that your biggest challenge yet, or was there another fight where you felt at a disadvantage?


Francisco: Biggest challenge? Nah, that was just a wake-up call. I wasn’t at a disadvantage—I just needed to remind myself who I am. I turned that fight around because that’s what I do. Honestly, my toughest challenge isn’t in the cage—it’s staying motivated while beating guys who don’t belong in there with me.



"People like to label fighters—striker, grappler, whatever. Me? I’m a problem. It doesn’t matter what you bring to the table; I’ll expose you. And when they try to fix one hole in their game, I’ve already found five more."
~ Francisco Garcia

It's been a very busy holiday season at MMA Hype with a lot of events and vacation time for some of the crew. The business side has not slowed down one bit and the fighters have been entertaining us as usual.

2024 has been one hell of a success for us. December gave us record numbers and we already started to send renegotiation contracts. That means we're going in the right direction, and as usual, we're thankful to everyone who helped put us on the map.

This brings us to yet another historical moment. First event of 2025 gave us our first champion in history. The Heavyweight division has crowned Vanderley Ferreira and 2025 could very well be the "Ferreira Era". The 265 division is known for one punch knockout fighters, but Ferreira is showing diversity with his insanely slick grappling. The black belt in BJJ sensation will surely continue to impress and we're looking forward many more title fights from him.

We have a lot more title fights lined up. The next 3 events will give us champions in the 205/155/145 divisions.

Happy New Year from the MMA Hype crew!

Another busy weekend for the MMA Hype crew as we witnessed our first 3-0 fighters rise to the top to become #1 contender in their divisions.
- Rory Lucas is now our top heavyweight fighter with 3 first round KO wins within the organization.
- Zechariah Osborne became our top welterweight by also going 3-0 with 3 first round KO wins.

MMA Hype 13 is our highest rated event to date. Only 1 fight went the distance, 2 submissions and 7 (T)KOs. If that’s not something impressive, I don’t know what is.

Hype 13 - Fight of the night went to Max Desmond and Savion Alvarado who went to a decision with a final score of 29-28 in Desmond’s favor. Desmond dominated the fight until the last round when he started to slow down and let Alvarado get more comfortable. Unfortunately for Alvarado, the final bell rang and he ran out of time. When Desmond realized he couldn’t hurt Alvarado with all his strikes, he was content to just cruise towards a decision win, knowing he had the first 2 rounds.

Hype 13 - KO of the night went to Eddie Odom who was simply too much for Kamatis. Odom had his way in the first round by landing almost every single strike. He rocked his opponent early in the second round when he landed a one two combo. He followed with more punches until the ref stepped in and called the fight. Impressive stuff from a newcomer at MMA Hype. Welcome aboard, Odom!

Hype 13 - Submission of the night went to Douglas Clark with an insane performance all around from the MMA Hype vet. Clark was at his third bout with the organization and was still winless. What a way to show the fans that he belongs with the best. He stood with a well decorated striker and made it look easy when he started landing head punches early on. A cut, a knowndown that rocked his opponent, and then he jumped on top of him and locked a slick Arm Triangle that put Hodges to sleep. If this is the new and improved Douglas Clark, give me some more!

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MMA Hype 14 was as impressive. 2 decisions, 1 sub and 7 (T)KOs, 6 of which were in the first round. We could easily have gone with a benchless venue, since we barely had time to sit at all.

Hype 14 - Fight of the night went to Vanderley Ferreira and Jesus Huerta and didn’t surprise anyone with a fight that may end up being fight of the year at MMA Hype. We knew that matchup was going to give us something like that. 2 highly skilled grapplers going head to head, and they gave us a striking clinic in the first round. Huerta got rocked late in the first round when he ate a clean uppercut and dropped to the ground. Ferreira followed him to the ground, but Huerta immediately started to work from submissions from the bottom. Round 1 ended and round 2 was more of the same. Ferreira landed another clean uppercut that dropped Huerta again. Huerta still managed to survive and work from the bottom, until Ferreira got his back and finished it off with a rear naked choke submission.

Hype 14 - Submission of the night went to Vanderley Ferreira with the rear naked choke win against Huerta.

Hype 14 - KO of the night went to veteran Lamar Bright who only needed 40 seconds to completely demolish his opponent. Bright landed all his strikes perfectly, which phased out Kinnaman. The final blow was a brutal uppercut that knocked Kinnaman out cold. We were told that he was out before even hitting the ground, which makes the blow landed by Bright even more devastating than we first thought. Bright has been doing great at MMA Hype and is now 2-1 within the organization.

MMA Hype 12 at The Palmtree in Las Vegas gave us an electrifying night of MMA action. Once again, the event set a new record for the highest earnout in MMA Hype history, with an almost sellout crowd of 2,063 fans. The fighters showcased incredible grit, delivering TKOs, submissions and close decisions. It was an event for all tastes.

Fight of the Night went to Dexter Watson vs. Manfred Kaum, a fierce middleweight clash. Watson used his Muay Thai skills to land numerous knees, while Kaum fought back with powerful elbows and a gritty determination to stay in the fight. Watson's relentless pressure in the clinch exchanges ultimately earned him a unanimous decision victory, with all judges scoring it 29-28. Both fighters left everything in the cage, earning well-deserved respect from the crowd.

KO of the Night was awarded to Jamal Powell, who delivered a stunning first-round finish against Jose Bernard. Powell dropped Bernard with a perfectly-timed hook to the temple and followed up with a brutal uppercut that crumpled his opponent. The referee stepped in, awarding Powell the TKO victory just 35 seconds into the fight. It was a spectacular display of power, and Powell continues to climb the ranks with this dominant win.

Submission of the Night went to Francisco Garcia, the 16 year old wunderkind secured a first-round Americana against Superkruang Markrolandbjj. Garcia faced an aggressive opponent who tried to keep the fight standing, but Garcia took control with a well-executed takedown. Once on the ground, Garcia quickly worked to lock in the Americana, forcing the tap at 1:57 of the first round. It was a clinical display of grappling, further solidifying Garcia's reputation as a dangerous submission artist.

The Palmtree in Las Vegas was almost sold out on Sunday, which put MMA Hype 11 on top for the biggest sellout in the organization’s history. Special night for manager John Wolf who had 3 of his fighters perform in the event, and all 3 came out victorious. 2 of these fighters are now top contenders in their divisions, keep up the good work!

Fight of the night went to Brad Tulips and Norman Jalisco who went the distance in the co-main event. Even though the fight was lopsided in Tulips’ favor, it was still a very entertaining fight to watch. Jalisco had a striking advantage, and showed it in the very first seconds of the fight when he knocked down his opponent. He made the mistake to wave him back up which gave Tulips just enough time to recover. Tulips then played it safe for a couple minutes, and it went downhill afterwards for Jalisco. The judges scored the fight 30-26 which gives Tulips his second straight win and puts him as a top contender of the heavyweight division.

KO of the night went to Alexander Njord who needed that finish to confirm the win in the third round. The first 2 rounds were a split, which put both fighters in an urge to finish the fight and not let the judges pick a winner. Njord picked it up as soon as the third round began. He kept his distance from Sabe with a jab and then he timed a perfect cross combination followed by a hook that dropped his opponent on the canvas. Beautiful needed KO to impress the fans at his MMA Hype debut.

Submission of the night went to Ethen Rojas, who despite being outmatched on the feet, managed to survive a flurry of punches and capitalized on his opponent’s mistake. Rojas was overwhelmed for a full minute and everyone thought the referee was going to stop the fight when he dropped to the mat after eating an uppercut. Moon jumped over him to finish the fight, but did not manage to land anything, which let Rojas recover and work where he was comfortable. Rojas stayed in bottom guard and worked for a submission until he finally locked in a triangle choke which forced his opponent to tap out. Crazy outcome to this fight.

Back to back double events for MMA Hype, and yet another success. We had a total of 20 fights on Sunday where we saw a lot of returning fighters, and a lot of them impressed us even more than their first fights. Hype 10 was our most successful event in history, with 2711 people in attendance, and an event rating of 83 which will surely be a tough one to beat.

Hype 9 - Fight of the night went to Nour Jradi and Donal MacCarthy for their impressive standup war, which was also voted fan favorite at the end of the night. The 2 fighters went all out in a 3 round bout and had to be separated by their crew when the final bell rang. A tough one to judge, even though Jradi got away with a 30-27 decision. I personally saw that fight as a split decision, but we don’t get to pick the judges.

Hype 9 - KO of the night went to Kwame Shikongo who took his kickboxing background to the next level and made a meal out of his opponent with kicks, most importantly the head kick that ended the fight before Nurzhan even hit the ground. Shikongo improved to 2-0 with MMA Hype which puts him as a clear contender in the 185 division.

Hype 9 - Submission of the night went to Craig Donnelly who took his chance on the ground against a superior wrestler. He had a tough start of the fight when he got taken down and dominated early, but he turned the tides around when he took the matter in hands by attempting a few submissions that gave him the edge in round 1. Round 2 started off the same way, but as soon as he got on his back, he locked in a brilliant guillotine that forced his opponent to tap. Donnelly is now a top contender in the heavyweight division with a record of 2-0 with MMA Hype.

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Hype 10 - Fight of the night went to Giovani Hatfield and Santiago Perez that had the fans cheering the whole fight. Hatfield came out on top with a dominant performance against Perez who came out with more of a control gameplan. Perez did manage to control the pace of the fight by clinching a lot, but unfortunately he ate too many punches throughout the fight to score any meaningful points in the eyes of the judges. Hatfield had a couple opportunities to end the fight when Perez was rocked and all over the place, but he chose to play it safe and kept pushing with an aggressive pace. The fight was a perfect set up for the main card that came afterwards.

Hype 10 - KO of the night went to Jimmy John who only needed a little over a minute to finish his opponent. John found his range early on in the fight by avoiding a few strikes and landing some of his own. Both fighters came on swinging, but John’s patience and accuracy were just too much. He rocked his opponent just after the 1 minute mark then waited for the perfect opportunity to land a monster hook that knocked his opponent out cold. A first professional victory that he will remember all his life.

Hype 10 - Submission of the night went to O Brian Nortega who despite having a hard time generating any offense on his feet, managed to take his opponent down late in the first round. The purple belt quickly took his opponent’s back and sunk in a sweet rear naked choke that created a limp body that he had to push away. His performance was impressive, just like his post fight interview that was related to sniffing a lower body section… yeah.

By far the busiest weekend we’ve seen yet. For the first time ever, we had 20 fights in one night at MMA Hype by combining Hype 7 & 8 together for one massive event. This gives us twice as many awards to hand out, so here we go!

Hype 7 Fight of the night went to Darryl Pitts and Ratibor Volkov who gave the fans an all out standup war that got the judges in all sorts of troubles. Pitts ended up with the split decision win, by getting the edge with his body shots. Volkov tried to use his height advantage throughout the fight to stay out of range of headshots, but his opponent came in swinging low more often than anticipated. With this win, Pitts is now 2-0, which puts another contender to the top of the stacked 145 division.

Hype 7 KO of the night went to Billy Leighton who only needed 22 seconds to send his opponent on the mat and finish the fight. Leighton had a clear counter strike game plan ready for the fight, and it worked flawlessly. He stuffed 5 takedowns in 15 seconds, then he timed a perfect overhand right, and that’s all his opponent remembers. Tip of the day: if you’re predictable, you won’t be comfortable.

Hype 7 Submission of the night went to Charles Luciano who got ragdolled for 2 rounds, then finally got to a comfortable position on the ground and locked in a beautiful kimura from side control that forced his opponent to tap. Luciano barely survived the fight by being dominated in all aspects of the stand up game. When his corner told him he was behind in the fight at the end of the second round, he had no choice but to turn it around and go all in, which gave us one hell of a slick submission.

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Hype 8 Fight of the night went to Allan Randolph and Kyson Everett for a close well rounded fight. We got to see all aspects of MMA in that fight, and Everett scored points in all of these aspects, but Randolph was the most dominant in the clinch, where they spent half of the fight. Randolph won by a close decision. He brought the fight to the ground in the first round and learned from his mistake when he realized his opponent was toying with him down there. The rest of the fight was pretty much his.

Hype 8 KO of the night went to Leo Mcknight for something I like to call a game changing KO. Mcknight was being served on the ground in the first round, and he needed something to turn the fight around. He adjusted in the second round and came swinging until he rocked his opponent with a nice combo. He then followed with a flurry of punches that ended the fight rather quickly. Less than a minute in the second round is all he needed to turn that fight around.

Hype 8 Submission of the night went to Abel Harper, who literally just waited for an opportunity. A fight between two BJJ brown belts, both fighters wanted to grapple and nothing more. Harper got taken down a few times but waited and waited until the last takedown, he landed exactly how he wanted to and quickly grabbed his opponent's arm for a sweet armbar. That my friends is a 100% success rate fight for Harper, who only needed that one move to win the fight. Patience is key.

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3 stars of the week:
This week is a little different. Since it was our first double header, we had quite a lot of fights happening. We had 1 manager that stood out with 3 wins, so we decided to give his 3 fighters, stars of the week.

Trainer DJ (manager) - went 3-0 over the weekend, his 3 fighters are the stars
Leo Mcknight - turned a fight around
Cael Compton - impressive striking abilities
Derrick Rojas - new org, new beginning

MMA Hype 6 is in the books, and we now have fighters with multiple wins, which brings us one step closer to championship fights! We have quite a few interesting fights, which made it tough to pick someone for the awards, but after rewatching some of the fights on tape, we finally came to a conclusion.

Fight of the night went to Dante Drayman and Van Soto for their 15 minutes war that could have easily ended in a draw. Drayman got the best of the fight by winning the last 2 rounds. He adjusted his gameplan after the first round by steering clear of the clinch, where Van Soto seemed to have the advantage. At striking distance, both fighters were scoring, but Drayman’s performance was slightly better overall. Awesome fight, good job guys.

KO of the night went to Rory Lucas who got himself in all sorts of trouble early on in the fight. He got taken down and had to defend himself on the ground until the referee stood the fighters back up. That’s where he shined and started landing strikes, until a nice combo knocked his opponent down. He kept his cool and waved him back to his feet and simply went for the finish with a nasty hook that dropped his opponent and ended the fight. Second straight MMA Hype win, this is a heavyweight to watch.

Submission of the night went to Vanderley Ferreira who ate his opponent alive from start to finish. Some say heavyweights are one dimensional strikers, then there’s Ferreira who shows that a good heavyweight can do anything. I rewatched the fight many times and am still impressed by the performance. He knocked his opponent down with strikes not once, but twice, then he got tackled in the clinch where he pulled guard and locked in a quick guillotine. His opponent went to sleep before having the chance to tap. Crazy stuff.

3 stars of the week:
MMA Hype 6 was a night of awesome performances, so the 3 stars of the week are handed out to fighters who were close seconds for performances of the night.

Jesus Huerta - close second for sub of the night
Mikel Arnetta - close second for fight of the night
Lamar Bright - close second for fight of the night

MMA Hype 5 is officially our highest rated event in history. A lot of fighters showed up on Sunday night and gave us one hell of a show, and we are extremely proud of everyone. The featherweight division looks very promising, but a lot of fighters are already being considered future champions. By the look of things, we expect the featherweight title to switch hands quite often once it's handed out.

Fight of the night went to a heavyweight showdown between Anastasios Ioannidis and Maurice King who fought their way to a decision. Ioannidis got the best of the battle by scoring with a lot of strikes in the last 2 rounds against a gassed out King. King started off the fight with a early takedown and spent all his energy trying to lock down a sub attempt to no avail. He tried to do the same in the second round, but failed to secure a second takedown. Ioannidis’ win puts him in a good spot amongst the top heavyweights in the division.

KO of the night went to Hector Wallace who only needed 16 seconds to knock his opponent out cold with a massive overhand. Wallace showed exceptional timing with his strikes by landing a nice combination, followed by a clean shot to the chin and then a final haymaker to end it all. Some experts say that Wallace could be an early contender for the title in the middleweight division.

Submission of the night was not hard to pick since there was only one, but it went to none other than Tum Bailek, who executed a perfect gameplan in just over 30 seconds. Bailek started the fight and went to grapple right away by securing a trip to land into half guard and didn’t waste time to go for a kimura that he locked in very quickly. Impressive performance by our fan favorite, which puts him at the top of the stacked featherweight division.

3 stars of the week:
Francisco Garcia - 16 years old phenom, superstar potential
Superkruang Markrolandbjj - Muay thai specialist with a side of clinch
Thlek Buidi - Not a quitter, likes to eat punches

The Palmtree was almost sold out for MMA Hype 4 last Sunday in Las Vegas. We are extremely proud and thankful for the roster we currently have. The future is bright!

Fight of the night went to Kwame Shikongo vs Nour Jradi who went to war until the referee stopped the fight due to cuts. Jradi was in good control of the fight until he got stuck in the clinch in the second round and started eating elbows that cut him too deep to continue. Shikongo showed a lot of patience against an opponent who clearly wanted to bring the fight to the ground.

KO of the night, or TKO of the night, went to Bryan Garcia who was clearly looking for a bonus. Garcia did a lot of damage to his opponent from the clinch and rocked him until he pushed him away and started throwing low kicks until he went high and landed a devastating head kick that knocked Joakim out cold. Wonderful showcase of muay thai from Garcia.

Submission of the night went to Pippo Coca who outsmarted his opponent with a slick triangle from the bottom. He tried to stand and brawl with his opponent until he realized that it was not going his way, then he pulled guard and landed in a position where neither fighters were comfortable. He tried to gain a better position but failed, so he improvised and randomly landed a beautiful triangle that put his opponent to sleep.

3 stars of the week:
Raiden Cervantes - It’s all about takedowns.
Tommy Bubbles - Professional moonwalker who likes to pop bubbles?
Nour Jradi - Painter extraordinaire who works mainly with the color red.