In Depth with Malki Kawa

By: Brian Churchin

For most of us, the thought of a sports agent brings up a mental picture of Jerry Maguire sitting on the phone screaming, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” or pleading with Rod Tidwell, “Help me, help you!” Or you may picture a fast talking, quick-witted Ari Gold putting Drama, Turtle and E in their place while doing anything and everything to help make Vincent Chase into a superstar.

After a 30 minute conversation with Malki Kawa, the CEO of First Round Management, and manager of UFC fighters Jon Jones, Thiago Alves, Carlos Condit, Alan Belcher and Ben Henderson (among others), I can tell you that this Hollywood depiction is pretty accurate on many levels.

Kawa has a passion about everything that he does and for every fighter that he represents. He prides himself by providing the best possible service to his clients and making sure they are taken care of. He told MMANonstop.com about refusing to “go under” for surgery this week because there was a deal that he needed to close and it was unacceptable for him to be asleep if that call came. Malki is involved in all aspects of his client’s fights. During our interview, he mentioned that he was staring at the fight shorts for his client Thiago Alves for his upcoming fight against Rick Story at UFC 130 and right next to the shorts were the underwear that Alves was going to wear for the weigh-ins.

Kawa tells MMANonstop.com about how he got started in this business and how his experience representing athletes in the NFL prepared him for the world of MMA. If you were ever interested in what it would be like to try to manage characters like Matt Mitrione or someone under a constant spotlight like Jon Jones, this is an interview you have to hear.

Malki is not afraid to answer his critics and has recently been under fire by fans and media for the Jon Jones – Rashad Evans match up and how it was handled. Followers of Malki on twitter should be accustomed to seeing him respond to fans and defending his actions. Malki even prefaced our interview by letting us know that he would answer any question that we had for him.

Being a manager is not just hyping your fighters or finding sponsors to put on their fight shorts.

If you want to have a successful career in sports management, be prepared to be available at all times for your fighters. During fight week if your guy needs a massage, you book it. If your fighter wants your mom to come in a day early, you change the flight and set up the room. If your guy is being asked for something from Dana White or a sponsor that he doesn’t want to or can’t do, guess who tells them “no.” Hell, if your guy wants to drive to the fight in a car made of pancakes and walk out to a Jay-Z cover of Michael Jackson, you get your ass up and find a pancake auto dealer and hope you’ve got Shawn Carter’s number in your phone.

It never stops. You’re always on. You know all of your fighters; actually you know everything about them. And on top of that, you better be making them some money.

Check out the MMANonstop.com exclusive interview with Malki Kawa and hear exactly about sports management, as well as the latest on Jon “Bones” Jones, Thiago “Pit Bull” Alves, Ben Henderson, and more. See if you can match wits with an excitable and energetic manager that is passionate about his fighters and finding success for them in the world of MMA.

Check out the debut episode of the MMANonstop.com Podcast with guest Malki Kawa here

Follow Malki Kawa on twitter at twitter.com/malkikawa or check out www.firstroundmanagement.com