After just six shows, Hexagone MMA President, Jerome Pourrut, has emerged as one of the most successful promoters in Europe.
On January 22, the Frenchman sat cage-side as Ernesta Kareckaite dethroned Flyweight Queen, Laetita Blot in front of 5000 fans at the Zenith Arena in Paris, France. The show, broadcast on BT Sport in the UK and internationally on DAZN, caught the eye of MMA enthusiasts around the globe. But while the businessman stands among some of the best in the field, his success didn’t come overnight.
With a lifetime of experience in sales and marketing, the French titan has a track record of exceeding revenue goals and leading sales teams to surpass expectations. In a storied career, he’s been an editor in chef of national print magazines, produced television programmes and put on over hundred sports events at venues such as the 80,000 seater Stade de France.
However, despite his achievements, his heart has always belonged to MMA. In 2005, he founded ‘Fighting Spirit’, a worldwide expert in combat sports media rights. But with the sport being technically illegal in his country until 2020, he had to reside to the fact that this was as far as his dream could go.
Despite French stars. Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane lighting up the stage in the UFC, MMA remained illegal in Pourrut’s country. However, the second the ban lifted, he rejoiced in the knowledge that he could finally scratch his fighting itch.
Alongside, his brother Laurent, the lifelong martial arts lover set up Hexagone MMA, and hasn’t looked back since. After three blockbuster shows on home territory, he expanded internationally with events in Dubai, UAE and Oberhausen, Germany.
Over the next few months, he will focus his efforts on France before heading to the high seas to promote contests all over the world. And we had the pleasure of speaking to the entrepreneur after his most recent blockbuster show.
Read: Exclusive: Dean Garnett reacts to his KO victory at Hexagone MMA 6 (sporf.com)
Hexagone MMA President, Jerome Pourrut speaks to Sporf
Following a bill packed with tremendous performances and explosive knockouts, the former commentator to spoke to us with a night of success still fresh on his mind.
In the co-main event of Hexagone MMA 6, Liverpool’s own Dean Garnett returned to the cage with a 30-second knockout. And the brutal showing impressed the President.
He beamed: “We want to promote old faces and new faces. Dean Garnett deserves the next title shot, he had a fantastic comeback inside just thirty seconds.
“Dean Garnett is a kind of athlete who you may know for being an awesome trainer. We’re very happy to have him. He’s more than ready for a title shot. He’s just asked me for another fight.
With the BT Sport deal growing the promotion across the UK, Pourrut is more than open to staging a show in Liverpool.
He confirmed: “Yes, of course, Dean Garnett can be the British face for Hexagone MMA, maybe we have some surprises in the near future. We love England. England and France have a bit of history together. So we’ll see.”
Thanks to the superb response to his ‘supershows’, the ex-voice-over star is ready to channel all his love in the direction of growing Hexagone MMA across his beloved country and around the globe.
He told Sporf: “As a team, we love MMA, so we are looking for the right recipe in France, but the whole of Europe as well. We want to be a European promotion.
“We want to put MMA where it’s not supposed to be. That’s what we need to do. In France, the image off MMA wasn’t always good. But now, we need to make French people understand that it’s a great sport.”
“I’m disappointed it took until 2020 to legalise it. That made us want to do the right thing, at the right moment. We had years to be prepare, so now we’re more than ready. 2023 will be the year of Hexagone MMA.
The promotion returns for Hexagone MMA 7 on March 11 at the Futuroscope Arena in Poitiers, France. The card will feature a blockbuster main event between Walter Gahadza and Aymard Guih for the vacant welterweight title.
Featured Image Credit: Hexagone MMA
