RFA to be the number one Czechoslovak band by the end of the year? The current reality is probably worse than expected. The organization is tripping over its own feet

RFA’s been up and running for a month now. It came to the Czechoslovak scene with great ambitions. It wanted to be the number one organization by the end of the year. But apart from the Octagon, which she is constantly “subtly” poking, she is mainly at war with herself. The reality is probably worse than the worst expectations. How is the new organization doing?

To be the Czechoslovak number one by the end of the year?

When the RFA entered the scene as a new organization, it had a very ambitious statement. It wanted to expand quickly abroad and be the number one Czechoslovak organization by the end of 2022.

To make matters worse, the promoter of the organization, Boris Marhansky, had a lot of criticism towards the Octagon. Besides, it can be said that right from the start, the RFA was poking at the Oktagon in some way.

RFA wanted to do everything differently, better. It promised more balanced fights, smooth verdicts of judges, real sporting quality, almost to the point of invisibility of Marhansky, good facilities and conditions for the fighters to whom it was supposed to offer a sporting advance.

How is the RFA doing in meeting its goals?

Great conditions for the fighters, but…

If there’s one thing you can’t criticize about the RFA, it’s the conditions for the fighters. It offers high wages, and the fighters also praise the service if they get injured, for example, and the organization takes care of everything for them. But it can be said that that is all. And it’s still a question of how much money it comes from.

The RFA is often compared to the failed XFN, which overpaid the competition, but then also failed miserably. It still owes money to several fighters to this day. It must be mentioned then that RFA will definitely not be in the plus numbers in terms of profits.

The RFA is plagued by a lack of audience interest

While public numbers are not available, there is almost no interest in the organization.

This is evident from the numbers on social media and platforms like YouTube. Of course, this is not a telling value, but a certain judgment can be made. Furthermore, everything was only made more visible when the RFA and Octagon held the tournament and weigh-ins on the same day and time. The power of the Oktagon was on full display.

As many people as watched the Oktagon weigh-ins live on YouTube still don’t have the RFA weigh-ins today. It was similar with the post-tournament press conference. So you can’t expect RFA to have much sales on PPV. Plus, Štvanice, where the Octagon was, was sold out. RFA in Ostrava was not.

It’s worth mentioning that RFA constantly offers discounts on PPV sales. This only speaks to the fact that the organization is trying to get the desired attention at any cost.

The sporting level is decent, the disastrous promo doesn’t help anything

As mentioned, the RFA promised a better level of sportsmanship than the Octagon. So far, it has failed to deliver. While it has criticized Octagon for promoting a few of its stars, it’s actually doing it on its own. And it’s not even doing it well. She’s basing her promo mainly on stars who came from the Oktagon, or fighters who beat someone from the Oktagon.

Moreover, the RFA is constantly digging into the Octagon. While promoter Boris Marhansky claims he is not interested in the rival organization, there is perhaps no interview or tournament where there is not a jab at the Octagon.

The Octagon may not put on great fights at times, but it can promote them nonetheless. It describes itself as a story organization. Rightfully so. Because of that, it can draw an audience, even to a match that maybe not as many people would be interested in. But the RFA does nothing of the sort. It puts together some really interesting and great fights in places, but what’s the point if it can’t promote them?

The proof is in the last tournament. Vojtech Garba defeated the former KSW champion, yet the match was never talked about before, Garba got virtually no space anywhere. And how did he promote himself after the fight? He’s been picking on Karlos Vemola.

The verdict? Less is sometimes more

The RFA isn’t doing a downright bad job. It’s decent to begin with. It’s just that the organization has taken on tremendous pressure and raised huge expectations that it simply can’t live up to. Maybe in a few years, but to come out and say we’ll be the best in a year? Oh, come on.

MMA may be on the rise in terms of popularity, but you can’t build everything right away. Not even by overpaying the biggest organization there is. Plus, in the style that the RFA entered the market when they tried to steal the biggest stars from the Octagon and bypass their fighters.

The RFA has made a bad name for itself with a good portion of the fanbase with its behavior and “self-promotion” that will be hard to fix. The question is whether it will get better as the sport improves.

If the RFA had come to the market as an organization that wanted to build itself gradually, no one would have said a word. But without having staged a single tournament, it has criticized the Octagon for doing this and that wrong. And now it’s learning. She should have done the opposite. Plus, if it weren’t for the Octagon, the RFA wouldn’t have a chance at all, because the Octagon is responsible for how popular MMA is in this country.

Building an MMA organization isn’t that easy. After all, there are many of them in the world, but only a few have really made it to the wider public. Moreover, it’s financially demanding and it’s questionable how long the RFA owners will be interested in sponsoring such an expensive “toy”, which may make millions.

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