LOUISIANA FIGHT CLUB

Ricky Derouen

By: Angela Parent

March 24, 2008

LA FIGHT CLUB: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE MIXED MARTIAL ARTS AND BOXING INDUSTRY?
RICKY: Along with my brothers, Rodney and Rusty, I started amateur boxing at a very young age. My father was an ex-boxer and took us under his wing, coached us, and followed us all over the world for about 15 years. Together, we hold many Golden Gloves, Silver Gloves, and Jr Olympic titles with over 500 competitive boxing matches between us. I have never competed in Mixed Martial Arts but love the sport for its combative nature. Getting to know the local fighters and understanding their dedication to MMA gave me the desire to get involved as a promoter. I take alot of pride in giving these a guys a huge stage to showcase their skills for thousands of fans.

LA FIGHT CLUB: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR ORGANIZATIONS, BOMBER PROMOTIONS AND FIGHT FORCE INTERNATIONAL?
RICKY: Bomber Promotions is a partnership started in 2001 with my brothers to promote Professional Boxing and Slugfest events. I created Fight Force International in 2006 to promote Mixed Martial Arts, we brought in Russell Schenck as our matchmaker and he has come in and done some really special things. I have surrounded myself with good people in both companies and success has been the result.

LA FIGHT CLUB: WHAT IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND WHO ARE THE OTHER PERSONS INVOLVED?
RICKY: I am the president of both companies and I am also the "Chairman of the Board" for Fight Force International. For us to promote high quality events, it takes a lot of hard work from many people behind the scenes. Everyone sees me at ringside during the event, but there is a long list of people that made it all happen.

LA FIGHT CLUB: ARE YOU PLANNING ON STAYING ONLY IN THE MISSISSIPPI AREA, OR BRANCHING OUT INTO OTHER STATES?
RICKY: Entertaining the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and giving local fighters an opportunity to fight in front of their family and friends is our focus.

LA FIGHT CLUB: DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE IS ENOUGH POPULATION IN THE BILOXI AREA TO GIVE YOUR EVENTS THE NUMBER OF TICKET BUYERS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?
RICKY: As long as we promote First Class / High Energy events, the fans will keep coming back. Our numbers have been beyond expectations. The interest in the Biloxi area has exploded; hopefully we have done something good to contribute to that.

LA FIGHT CLUB: IS THERE ANYTHING COMING UP FOR YOUR ORGANIZATIONS FOR 2008?
RICKY: Well, 2008 looks very promising. We started out in January with a great show in Hattiesburg. The fights were some of the best yet and the crowd exceeded 1900 fans which almost doubled our first event there last year. We will be back in Hattiesburg in May and possibly two more times before the end of the year. "Blood & Sand IV" will take place on April 5 at the Ms Coast Coliseum. "Blood & Sand V" will take place in July and "Blood & Sand VI" will be around November. I am currently negotiating details to promote events with the Beau Rivage Casino, and that has me really excited. So, stay tuned for that!

LA FIGHT CLUB: THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME RICKY! SEE YOU IN BILOXI IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS!
RICKY: In closing, I would like everyone to know how exciting it is to be a part of all of this. The people I have had the opportunity to meet and the relationships I have developed are priceless. The most rewarding part of any of our events is when I hear the crowd roar and see the fans on their feet. To know that we are entertaining people and giving them a reason to cheer makes all of the hard work worth it. And to the fighters, your dedication to the sport you love is what I admire the most. You are truly the stars of our show. Thank You!

Frank Shamrock

Strikeforce Middleweight Champion

5 Time Undefeated UFC Champion

WEC Light Heavyweight Champion

4^th King of Pancrase

By: Angela Chustz-Parent

Louisiana Fight Club, LLC

www.thelafightclub.com

1/08/07

LFC: I heard a rumor about you and Ken fighting next year? Who is putting that on or is it still in the works?

Shamrock: Yes, next year. We are still working on it. We haven’t found a home for it yet, but it’s going to be a big deal.

LFC: Is there tension between you and Ken or is this something you want to do to prove that you are better than him?

Shamrock: Like all brothers and family members, we have our problems, but that is not what the fight is about. When you are not a fighter it is hard to understand why you would fight someone you care about. To me, it’s a professional choice and not an anger issue. I’m not mad at Ken, I could care less.  We are both in the same business. If we were doing business deal together and we were bankers, no one would say anything. But because we are fighters people think we hate each other. We have our problems but that is not why we are fighting each other. The fight is about what we do as professionals. I think it is something new and different that is a little bigger than the sport itself and that could really bring some mainstream interest to the sport. That’s why I am doing it. AND -it would be nice to kick my brother’s ass too! I’m sure he feels the same.

LFC: You are the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. Who is up next? Renzo Grazie? Cung Le?

Shamrock: I don’t think Renzo will ever fight me. I think he’s a coward. Cung is going to step up and fight me – and he is going to have to show up and be Superman because I am just really hard to beat. I know Cung’s style. He’s a tough guy but he’s not that experienced in MMA. He’s more of a San Shou guy. He is pretty talented in it but when you mix everything up he doesn’t have the experience like I do.

LFC:  What is MMAStars all about and what does it take for fighters to get involved in it?

Shamrock: MMAStars is something I have been doing for about 10 years now. It’s branding and developing fighters in more than just them being fighters. Anyone can be a fighter – it’s not that hard. I really want to take people and develop them to their fullest so that they can have a not only have a successful career but branding them to be corporate sponsor ready, camera ready, etc. It’s the hardest thing to try and teach a fighter how to be famous. It amplifies all the bad things that they do and then it creates all kinds of weird and crazy pressure. There are a lot of kids like kids there in Louisiana who are going through a martial arts school and learning how to fight but they don’t know how to manage money, don’t know how to speak on camera, don’t know how to present themselves, don’t know how to teach, and all those things that it takes to become a professional martial artists. So, we have training programs for them here on site and training programs for them online. It’s a development program.   After they are trained, we then send them out for appearances, trainings, personal trainings, private trainings, public speaking, key note speaking, and public instruction seminars, photo shoots, demos, modeling, and all kinds of things.

LFC: What is the “The Fight Against Blood Cancer” fundraiser all about?   

Shamrock: We do a cancer fundraiser event every quarter and a larger one once a year. In the event coming up, Cory, one of our students, is running a marathon to help raise $2500 which will go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can go to www.frankshamrock.com and donate and read the story about it.

LFC: You have a “Secrets of MMA” seminar coming up in California. Do you have specific seminars that you do teach?

Shamrock:  We do 3 types of seminars. The most common seminar is the Mixed Martial Arts seminar. For that one, about 30 minutes before the seminar starts I find out what everybody knows and try to create a curriculum that will update their knowledge. That is the most common seminar. I get called out to traditional Martial Arts schools that want to update their programs.  I go in and look at their programs and styles and update their programs to a mixed martial arts program. The final seminar is specific requests. Some guys want to learn leg locks, take downs, clinches, and other specific types of seminars. To schedule a seminar you can to go to www.frankshamrock.com and there is a tab for Seminars or they can contact me at frank@frankshamrock.com.

LFC: What do you think it takes for a fighter to become a champion?

Shamrock: A good coach and dedication.

LFC: What do you have going on new for 2008?

Shamrock: I’m shooting a feature film this month, a book this month, a book next month, releasing 3 videos, I have a video game that will complete in March and the list goes on. I have a really good staff of people that helps me do it all and keep me on top of things.

LFC: Do you have any advice to Mixed Martial Artists that are just starting out?

Shamrock: Yes, find a good coach and keep your hands up! The secret to my success has always been having a good mentor or a good coach. I’m no rocket scientist but I just know who to listen to and have good dedication. Find a good coach. Find a good mentor. Find a good leader - somebody to look after you and give you unbiased advice and you will be way ahead of the game. AND- become a MMAStar – that will help! (www.mmastars.com)