The popularity of mixed martial arts has taken a worldwide hold, and now MMA — not boxing — is the combat sport of choice for young athletes who combine elements of boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, judo and other disciplines in the ring.
But for amateurs turning pro, the starting pay can be Ramen inducing — near minimum wage once you factor in all the training costs. For that very reason, most low-level MMA fighters hold regular jobs.
Mikhail Venikov (left), who attended Casa Roble High School in Orangevale, fights as part of Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male and has a 3-0 professional record. And he, too, has a day job.
The 30-year-old welterweight has a degree in business administration from Heald College in Roseville, was an Army Ranger with two deployments, graduated from the Sacramento Sheriff’s Academy and was recently accepted onto the San Mateo SWAT Team.
Anthony Avila has been fighting professionally for 5 years and wants to be “successful enough to raise a family and be known by the world.” With an 11-2 record, he’s making headway. The 24-year-old spends about 25 hours a week training in mixed martial arts at Ultimate Fitness in midtown Sacramento. He spends another 25-hours a week slinging beer and onion rings at Burgers & Brew restaurant, which is great, he says, “when you’re not trying to cut weight.”
On a normal day, Avila weighs about 175 pounds, but he fights primarily in the featherweight class, for fighters from 136 to 145 pounds. “We’re like scientists when it comes to cutting weight,” he says. Within just days of a fight, Avila and his competitors will drop upward of 20 pounds. “Drinking and eating are jobs on their own,” he says.
Sacramento native and UC Davis grad Urijah Faber has turned a professional fighting career into a veritable brand enterprise complete with apparel line, talent management company, training gym and a team of up-and-coming professional fighters.
He’s one of the few to make it big, and at this point in the game, the 28-6 bantamweight is as successful in business as he is in the ring, a result he attributes to smart partnerships and focused expansion.
“I do my part, which is to train hard and fight. But I put ideas into motion with great partners. I wouldn’t be able to have businesses without trusting and being a good judge of character.”
When he’s not training or coaching at Ultimate Fitness, the gym he owns in midtown Sacramento, Faber is tirelessly promoting and growing his brand and products across the globe. The physicality of his schedule is harrowing. Still, Faber thrives. “Everything I’m involved with revolves around the same thing: my passion.”
It’s Duane Ludwig’s job to get kicked by Urijah Faber. It’s his job to get kicked and punched by a lot of guys, actually. Ludwig (orange shorts), 34, is a Muay Thai kickboxer, mixed martial artist and the head coach for Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male, a squad of about 30 MMA fighters training out of Faber’s Ultimate Fitness gym.
The former middleweight Muay Thai world champion also fights Ultimate Fighting Championships in their welterweight and lightweight divisions. He moved to Sacramento from Colorado earlier this year and says, “This fit — Sacramento and this team — has been perfect. It’s like they gave me a garage full of race cars.”
MMA fighting is (another) full-time job
A peek at Bill McAnally's NASCAR
Bill McAnally owns 70,000 square feet of shop space – split between his race shop and automotive care business – and 31 race cars built on site at Bill McAnally Racing NAPA AutoCare Center in Roseville.
