Uniting the Best of the Best in the Midwest
Recently, I attended a smaller semi-pro event and was surprised to see a fairly experienced out-of-town team warming up their fighters. I chatted with them a little and wished them all luck. After the event, the team's coach came over and asked me why I didn't warn them about this event.

Evidently, they were promised the world over the phone, and while I come to expect the worst from most "Bush League" events, how is a fighter supposed to know what events are quality and which events are crap?

ENTER THE SYNDICATE

One of the luxuries I have in my profession is that I get to see all of the events-small and large, good and bad. If anyone would know what events are worth participating in, it would be me. Rather than routinely field a flood of calls from fighters and managers who voice their discontent for various promotions and promoters, I decided to start tracking the events that I feel are up to par.

Many readers know where I stand when it comes to the quality of professional events, and there are many out there who do not meet the standard I feel they should. From now on, the ones who do will be the ones that I talk about-the ones that have been approved as part of an elitist group called the Midwest Syndicate. Think of it as a professional stamp of approval.

WHY THEY ARE TOPS

Out of all the events I attend, there are always a few that stand out. These are events that exceed expectation time and again. These events always treat their athletes with the utmost respect, match their fights fairly and most importantly, cover their bills. The athletic commissions sanction these events, and these are ones to which I am proud to refer a fighter. As time goes by the list will grow, but the first group of promotions to gain approval is listed in the sidebar.

In addition to running great events, these promotions may also be offering cross promotions between themselves, including tournaments and title fights in which fighters will represent their respected promotion, even while fighting in another. Here the interest is in finding the best possible matches and encouraging fighters to compete in other areas instead of corralling a fighter to just one promotion. This also sets up a great network for promoters in need of finding quality fighters.

RAISE THE BAR

All the results, upcoming event information and promotional contact info is readily available online at, and each of these events will be marked as a Syndicate-approved event, allowing both fighters and fans the comfort of knowing that they are getting involved with a quality event. Again I expect this list to grow as more events appear and current promotions raise their production value to fit the criteria. In the meantime, look for event posters that carry the Midwest Syndicate symbol and for information on the site.

Although there are many good events out there, these are the ones that I feel raise the bar over all the rest. So the next time you see me at an event, hopefully you won't have to ask me why I didn't warn you, but you will be comforted in knowing that you are competing in an event that comes with my recommendation.

Keep an eye out ... the Midwest Syndicate is here!

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The First Four

Following are the events that have been approved as part of an elitist group called the Midwest Syndicate.
. The Midwest Cage Championship
Web Site: www.midwestcagechampionship.com
. Victory Fighting Championship
Web Site: www.victoryfighter.com
. Ring of Fire
Web Site: www.rofmma.com
. Mainstream MMA
Web Site: www.mainstreammma.tv
- VJ