The Success of DEEP

Sherdog has a nice article about DEEP and the man behind it,promoter Shigeru Saeki. The story is an interesting one as it ties in the success of a regional show like DEEP into the personality and ability of Saeki himself. As for what accounts for DEEP's success, it's essentially their ability be unorthodox while offering a consistently quality product. They play outside the boundries of the Tokyo-based large promotions and that's precisely why they thrive:

As a promoter who has found success where others have not -- with female fighters and nationwide touring -- one would be hard pressed to pinpoint why Saeki has flourished when many of his peers have failed. It’s difficult enough to survive as a regional fight show in Japan without accruing huge debt in the dark days that have followed the “kakutogi boom.” Still, Deep clings to its place in the local MMA scene.

“I wouldn't be able to comment because I never realized that there was [a boom],” Saeki says. “Maybe for K-1 and Pride there was, but for myself, Shooto, Pancrase, GCM and ZST, we didn't really feel one.”

So where then does the promotion’s success originate? Another ingredient in Deep’s triumphs comes from the time-honored tradition of spectacle, which appears to work well in Japan.

“This year will be Deep’s eighth, so Japanese fans probably know what we do best by now,” Saeki says. “We're an MMA promotion, but we're also an entertainment company.”

DEEP's Megaton tournament wasn't anything I cared about and not something I'd like to see replicated in America, but if it keeps the Japanese happy and MMA alive there is some upside to it after all.