Gilbert Burns, Derek Brunson team up with Content Creators for ‘Home of Fight’
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A popular MMA social media page is expanding into a full blown media outlet. More than half a million MMA fans already follow Home of Fight. But with some massive partnerships, they are positioning themselves nicely to disrupt the world of MMA media in 2024.
Back in 2018, MMA fan Roman Abdullaiev started the HOF Instagram page to post memes, MMA content, and to follow promotions like the UFC. With high quality posts and consistency, Abdullaiev amassed a following of over half a million in just 5 years. With the HOF page getting more interaction than most MMA media pages, Abdullaiev decided it was time to partner up and bring the brand to the next level.
The Deal
Popular sports betting handicapper Matthew Tanner, better known as Matty Betss, is joining Abdullaiev and taking over as CEO of Home of Fight. The pair are partnering with some very influential names in MMA to help grow the company into one of the largest media outlets.
UFC’s Gilbert Burns and PFL’s Derek Brunson are joining the team as investors and podcast hosts. They’ll play an integral part; bringing on a rare and unique perspective to MMA media coverage through the eyes of a fighter, as opposed to through the eyes of a journalist.
With Matty Betss at the helm, sports betting is obviously an aspect of MMA in which HOF is going to cover. The final member joining the already stacked team is successful sports betting handicapper Hayden Iverson, more widely known as Hayjive Picks.
With a team consisting of some of the best fighters in the world, a pair of very successful MMA handicappers, and a group of very talented content creators, Home of Fight has certainly set themselves up to be a much needed breath of fresh air in MMA media.
The Plan
HOF’s main mission is to establish themselves as one of the premiere MMA media outlets. The reach to fans is going to be huge with their already massive following and some very diverse plans in the works. Their high quality content will only improve with all of the star power backing their goals.
From UFC event coverage, to betting shows and everything in between, Home of Fight wants to touch on every aspect of MMA. Short term plans involve getting boots on the ground at UFC events to cover the fights and interview the fighters, podcasts hosted by UFC fighters, giving the best fights picks and betting angles, and much more. No matter what kind of fan you are, HOF will have something for you.
Long term, what’s going to set them apart is quality work and the star power the team already has. It’ll certainly set the company up for immediate success with exponential room to grow. Spearheaded by some very powerful people in the MMA community, relationships are going to grow quickly and they’ll attract bigger names to help build Home of Fight into something truly spectacular.
The Team
Matthew Tanner
Joining Home of Fight as CEO, Matty Betss has big plans for the company. Coming from a gambling background, Matty wants to add a betting angle, but also wants to see HOF alongside some of the bigger MMA media publications at UFC events. Currently looking to expand the team and launch some fresh content soon, this acquisition has been nothing but hard work in the early stages. But luckily, all the pieces are slowly coming together.
Gilbert Burns
Currently a top ranked UFC welterweight, Gilbert Burns is one of the best fighters to ever step foot inside the octagon. He now looks to break into the MMA media space with HOF. Balancing fighting and fight coverage is going to be a new challenge for the former title challenger. But, it’s certainly one he’s excited for.
Burns is not only an investor into the company, he will also be hosting podcasts where he will breakdown fights, interview fighters, and give a unique behind the scenes perspective that can only come from a fighter themselves. Many journalists and content creators do a great job at trying to see things from an athlete’s perspective in the sport they cover. But no one can do so better than the actual athlete themselves. Competing at the absolute highest level of the most prestigious MMA promotion in the world makes Gilbert Burns the perfect man for this job.
Derek Brunson
Very similarly to Burns, Derek Brunson competes at the highest level in MMA and can offer a perspective into MMA coverage that very few are able to. Being an investor into the company himself, Brunson also looks to take a hands-on approach to building the Home of Fight brand. Brunson will also be hosting shows/podcasts, focusing on promoting fighters and creating content for fight fans.
Along with being a PFL fighter, Brunson is a big fan of sports betting and plans to interact with fans in a gambling capacity too. He has very unique insight into betting on fights, having been in dozens of fights himself. Brunson is very excited to expand his content creation portfolio with HOF.
Hayden Iverson
Taking over as HOF’s Head of Betting is Hayjive Picks. Hayjive has thousands of loyal followers tailing his bets every week. Now with a platform bigger than ever before, he looks to bless the masses with his profits by betting on MMA. Hayjive is in the process of organizing an entire Home of Fight betting channel, writing shows/podcasts tailored to making fans money, and bringing on active fighters to give their takes on the best MMA bets to make. Needless to say, the fans are in good hands with Hayjive Picks leading the charge towards robbing the bookies.
Roman Abdullaiev
As the original founder of Home of Fight, Abdullaiev is putting his trust into the hands of some very capable team members to help ease his work load. Fear not, although Abdullaiev is no longer a one man band, he is staying on board as Head of Social Media to oversee all content and to make sure fans are getting the quality they deserve. Being his “brain child” after all, HOF will always be near and dear to him. So he doesn’t plan on going anywhere, anytime soon.
The Brand
It is very important for the team to differentiate themselves from some of the other MMA media companies. The goal isn’t to recreate stale and repetitive content that over-saturates sports journalism. Rather, the goal is to add unique perspectives from every possible angle of the sport. HOF wants to have fun, bring good energy, keep the sport of MMA fresh, and most importantly, keep the fans satisfied and happy. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel… But there’s certainly room for a group with their talents to introduce the sport to their idea of what MMA media could look like.
The Future
There is so much currently in the works at Home of Fight. Podcasts and shows are being written, fighter interviews are being published, and all sorts of content is being created. In the coming days, an official HOF website is dropping, along with a YouTube page featuring all of their content. With Gilbert Burns fighting at UFC 299 and Derek Brunson joining the 2024 PFL season, there will also be plenty of exclusive behind the scenes training camp content.
It’s not everyday that two top ranked fighters join together to form an MMA media company. It will be exciting to see just how far Burns, Brunson, and the entire Home of Fight team take the brand.
Make sure you check back for exclusive interviews with the entire HOF team detailing this massive announcement, their plans, and upcoming fights.
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