Team Takedown

by Luke Thomas on Sep 28, 2007 2:48 PM EDT in MMA News

They're doing things the right way. They're gathering successful, premier level athletes with a martial arts background and allowing them to slowly, but surely develop their skills/career without worrying about how they'll feed themselves or their family. To wit:

Hendricks has signed with Team Takedown, a management company based in Arlington, Texas. Co-founder Ted Ehrhardt, whose other business holdings include an international fire protection company, says Hendricks is among four fighters he has signed to contracts assuring each at least $100,000 per year.

"They get a salary, housing allowance, vehicle allowance. ... They have no worries financially. All they've got to do is train for a living," says Ehrhardt, whose group is promoting the event at Coca-Cola Bricktown Events Center.

The IFL is holding try-outs, which I realize is how the UFC gets its contestants for their reality show. However, most of the reality stars eventually wash out. I believe combing through the various camps of MMA to uncover talent is evidence the talent level of the IFL is nowhere even close to the UFC.

Team Takedown's talent is also unpolished, but the difference is that a) the members are already elite level athletes with high accomplishments in related sports and b) unlike maintaining or expanding a fight league, Team Takedown can be selective who they sign. That means more financial resources, more variety in terms of who the fighters face, and more notoriety for their members.

MMA may very well be a team sport, but that's mostly true behind the scenes.

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