Titan FC‘s CEO Jeff Aronson took a moment to discuss what goes on in the MMA world when the lights are off.

Jeff Aronson is a manager turned promoter currently heading the promotion Titan FC. Since taking over, Aronson has been using his inside information and experience to develop legitimate talent while avoiding “freak show fights”.

Prior to running Titan FC, Aronson was one of the heads of Alchemist Management. The team was run by Aronson, MC Hammer, and Lex McMahon, and had several top fighters signed.

Titan FC is on the cusp of putting on it’s biggest show yet, so Cage Pages took some time to learn about the promotion, and MMA from the eyes of a promoter and manager.

Aronson started out by letting people know how he got started as a promoter.

“Alchemist Management was signing top prospects, and we had the toughest time getting them fights to get them battle-tested. We even started signing UFC level talent and had a hard time getting them fights. I went to my partners at Alchemist Management, they gave me their blessings to step down, I purchased Titan and since then it’s grown to what it is today. “

Aronson went on to explain why they’ve seen continued success.

“The thing that really separates us is we’re working on real MMA fights. We sign top veterans and top prospects, but we don’t make any freak show fights. We really battle-test our guys so they can develop. We don’t want our fighters to be two and out fighters.”

Regional promotions often pick up veteran fighters after they leave the UFC or Bellator. It is a great way for them to make the necessary changes, and get back to the biggest promotions possible. At the same time, older fighters often fight beyond what their bodies can realistically handle. Aronson touched on dealing with veteran fighters, and the difficult conversations one has to have.

“As a promoter, not a manager, I have different conversations with fighters. I haven’t had to talk with Titan guys, but I have done it on the manager side. The problem is the window is so small, you only have so many years, fights and injuries your body can take. These guys are so passionate, they love what they do so much that they want to be involved forever. You have to sit people down and be brutally honest. You have to think long term, you have to be nice but honest. I don’t want to name names, but we had to tell one UFC fighter if he didn’t stop we would cease to represent.”

On the flipside, Aronson and Titan FC spend the majority of their time developing young prospects. Aronson discussed some of the brightest prospects in Titan FC, and two fighting at Titan FC 38.

“Jose Torres is a guy that if continues to grow and develop into the fighter he is becoming, he will contend for the title. I think he’ll have to go down to 125, but he could contend for the title in the UFC. If you look at his fights, if you look at his movement, he has everything it takes. This kid is a phenom. Sid Bice has every attribute to go on and contend, but he’s by far fighting his toughest test in Pedro Nobre. That might be fight of the night. Nobre just went against Tim Elliott and he got his licks in against a guy I think is a top five flyweight.”

Continuing on about Titan FC 38, Aronson discussed more of the fun match-ups to look forward to.

“You got Caio Rocha taking on Peter Petties. Corey Tait from the UK is coming over, taking on Andrew Whitney. We’ve got one of the top welterweights Steve Carl. He could have gone anywhere, but we got him and he’s fighting one of the top welterweight prospects in the world, Belal Muhammad, for the welterweight title. We’re putting them together to see what happens.”

Being a promoter, Aronson has an interesting perspective on the current drama going on in the MMA world. Aronson gave a brief comment on the Conor McGregor situation, and promoter-fighter relations.

“I don’t really know the true facts, but the truth is no one fighter is ever bigger than the brand. UFC is the brand, the promotion, and it’s their ball, their field in their arena. If part of your job is to go on the press tour, you do it. You do your job.”

Ever the promoter, Aronson decided to leak a bit of news about an upcoming Titan FC card.

“June 10th we’re having Pat Healy fight JZ Cavalcante for the lightweight title.”

Before closing the conversation, Aronson stressed the motto that has made Titan FC successful.

“We’ve been following the same formula fight after fight, putting on good match-ups. Getting good veterans and prospects in on the same card. We started using the hashtag #fansfightersfirst because we truly appreciate the fans. We always put the fans and the fighters first.”

Running a successful fight promotion is taxing physically and mentally. Not only are people in charge of putting together engaging entertainment, but they are responsible for managing the careers and egos of some of the most high pressure athletes in the world. Titan FC, and Aronson, thus far have done so with integrity, while keeping fighters’ best interests at heart. Catch the latest installment of Titan FC on April 30th, where Steve Carl and Belal Muhammad will try to capture the inaugural welterweight title. Keep up with Titan FC action by following the promotion on Twitter and Facebook, and connect with Aronson on Twitter.

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