Thank You and Goodnight to MMA Valor
Well, if you couldn’t guess by the title, it’s time for me to close the book on this chapter of my life and leave my MMA Valor gloves in the center of the cage. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, in fact I’ve been struggling with it for a long time but it’s time for me to say “Thank you and Goodnight!”
Why am I doing this and what will happen next are valid questions but ones that cannot be answered so easily. With all that said, the simple answer to the first question is this. Things change, the sport has changed, the people in and around the sport have changed and of course I’ve changed. It’s just time to move on.
I started MMA Valor in 2009 as a place for me to voice my thoughts and opinions on the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. I came into the sport late, like so many I was drawn in by the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. The sport was different from anything I’d seen and I was instantly hooked. It reminded of the glory days of boxing that I watched with my dad, fused with the honor of martial arts that modern-day sports so deeply lacks.
Over the past five years the website evolved and grew into something I could have never imagined. My “little” website took me to unexpected places, afforded me some great experiences and introduced me to people I would have otherwise never met. All of which was made possible by the help of a handful of people and most importantly, you, the reader. Without you guys checking out the site and reading the articles, MMA Valor would have never achieved the things it did and I’m incredibly grateful. So if you have ever read an article, looked at the Event Posters or checked out the MMA Valor rankings, I’d just like to say Thank You.
While the site started out with just me I was fortunate enough to find people who were interested in writing on the site. These MMA fans had their hand in building MMA Valor and several of them even went on to start-up their own MMA website. I’ve always appreciated those that wished to help and grow the site and hope that I made a positive impression on them.
Of all the staff writers I’ve had though there is one that sticks out to me the most, he’s also the one that stuck with me until the very end. Mike Hammersmith started writing in mid 2011 and quickly became a mainstay on the site. When times got tough he stood with me and without him the site might have never even made it into 2014. I am grateful for everything he’s done and look forward to texting and tweeting him random stuff for years to come.
Aside from the writers I’ve met a handful of people who I’d like to mention prior to exiting. Each played a big part in this journey and might not understand how much that part meant to me. (I’ll throw out a warning here, things might get a bit sappy)
My Family – When my hobby turned into a whole lot more and began taking up more and more time, my family never questioned it. They let me chase the dream and allowed me to exceed any and all my expectations. Despite missing things or having to rearrange plans due to an event they always supported me.
Erik Fontanez – When I started out I was a mess at the whole writing thing but Erik helped me out and showed me the ropes. I don’t think he ever set out to do it but his guidance and professionalism helped me quite a bit.
Rich Butler – In similar boats, me and Rich quickly became friends after meeting and doing a couple of radio spots (including his own show “My Take Radio”). Time and time again we’d bounce thoughts and ideas off each other and give the other our honest opinion. He talked me off the ledge a few times and I believe I’ve done the same for him. Having a friend like him in the same situation as myself was great and I will continue to support him and his brand.
Amy Barton – Early on while building my social media brand I met Amy on twitter. Later we met at the UFC Expo and I’ve called her friend ever since, even though she forgot about me on the luxor casino floor. Like Rich I could also count on Amy as a sounding board for whatever was on my mind. She pointed me in many of the right directions, though I didn’t always listen. I’m very thankful to have her as a friend.
I also would like to thank (in no particular order), John Petit, Jarod Buttons, Anton Skoro, Gary Friedman, Jordan McCreery, Gerald Grube, Hector Castro, Tony Savo, Joe Abbott, Paige Berger, Phil Lambert, Thomas Volkert, Ryan MacDonald and Rob Tatum.
For now MMA Valor will remain live as a tribute to all the hard work myself and others have put into it. The only major change to the site will be to the event posters and calendar which will be getting a new home at www.themmapulse.com. Should you want to say hi, you can still find me on Twitter and Facebook, so please give me a follow.
So for the final time I say Thank You and Goodnight.
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Category: Announcement, Featured
About the Author (Author Profile)
My brain child is MMAValor, something I had wanted to do for a long time and finally it’s here. Been an MMA fan since TUF season one (play catch up all the time) and the obsession started to grow like a weed and as the sport grows so does the love for the sport. I’m a jack of all trades, a very organized person that rides an emotional roller coaster daily.Subscribe
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Sad day to see you close up shop man. Good luck on whatever you do going forward!
Thank you Handel for the comment, it means a lot.
Sad to hear this, but know you had been wrestling with it for a while. I simply can’t thank you enough for allowng me to have been a part of this. I’ll never forget it.
Thank you for the very kind words Ryan.