#rumbleinthecage

Full disclosure: I have done play-by-play for Rumble in the Cage over the last few years and will do so again for the RITC 48.

  Rumble in the Cage 48 invades the Lethbridge Exhibition South Pavilion, Saturday, October 26th. As Canada’s longest running mixed martial arts promotion, RITC has survived while a great number of other promotions have come and gone. Promoter Lee Mein has put on nearly 50 events, starting out inside of a local bar, before branching out to bigger venues here in the city and across Western Canada.

  For his next show, not only is Mein promoting it and training his stable of fighters, he will also go up against Edmonton’s Bobby Kalmakoff in a heavyweight tilt for the main event. Leading up to the clash, I caught up with the Canadian Martial Arts Centre owner to get his thoughts on the current status of RITC and his return to battle.

  Q: It has been a year since the last Rumble in the Cage, why the lag between shows and why are you still in the game promoting?

Lee Mein: I’ve always wanted to promote. It’s always a matter of when I have time, when fighters are available and Jordan’s [Mein] career in the UFC and some other guys fighting top fights, if they’re getting opportunities [elsewhere], we’ll go out to those shows. I only did the Rumble for guys to get experience. There were so many [of our] shows going on, people weren’t coming out as much, [because the thinking around town is] “I’m going to catch the next one because you guys are doing [a show] every two months. So we cut back on the number of shows. We did a show in Saskatchewan, went really well. So, we’re going to expand where we do shows a bit. I’m going to revamp things here in the New Year and maybe try do more shows again but run them a bit different for my own peace of mind.

  Q: Leading up to another event does it feel like “old hat” for you or do you still get excited about putting on a show?”

Lee Mein: Some things are old hat and frustrating: Dealing with fighters and coaches when they don’t get their blood work in, for instance. Or guys getting hurt and cancelling, then scrambling to find a replacement for a guy. There’s the same drama that goes with putting on a fight card and getting sponsors. The regular sponsors are great and helping out but we’re always going out and trying to get new ones and expand because you want to pay guys more and do more—it takes more money. That part is the same. I’m still excited because once the show happens it’s going to be a good time. Everyone is going to have a great party. The fighters are going to love it, the fans are going to love it, so that’s the big reward.

  Q: What have you learned in your many years as Canada’s longest running mixed martial arts promotion?

Lee Mein: To me it’s been very simple because I know what I want when I go [to another] show as a fighter and what I expect as a fighter. [It’s] just basic stuff for what I try to do for the [fighters] and everyone loves coming to [Rumble in the Cage]. When I go to other shows that are starting out and I go to three or four shows and if they haven’t figured it out by then, they’re not going to get it. It’s stupid stuff—no water, no warm-up mats for the fighters, no itinerary, nobody knows where they’re going or where they’re staying –it’s stuff like that that frustrate me. It’s pretty simple—I don’t get how people screw it up. There are complications to it, you’re promoting, there’s a lot of money on the line, laying out 30 or 40 thousand dollars, if nobody shows up you’re losing that money. So there’s that stress [to deal with]. Overall, doing your basic marketing and your basic matchmaking and all of the stuff that’s involved, there are a tonne of little jobs but we just get them done.

  Q: What part do you enjoy the most in promoting a fight card like this?

Lee Mein: Seeing the crowd going crazy for a great fight. [Whether] my guys win or lose the fight, it was entertaining and the crowd loved it. And after if the fighter was wowed by how they did, even if they didn’t win the fight—that’s the exciting part. Helping guys reach their goals. If [their] goal is to get to UFC, if they get a fight on my show as an amateur, then build to a pro career and they start doing well as a pro and I’m bringing the guys in for them to fight and they win that fight that gets them one step closer. [If] they lose that fight, then we have to retool everything and [do the things] to rebuild it to get [the fighter] back where the UFC will notice you. [We] bring in the tough enough guys that they learn from those fights and are ready to be in the UFC when they get the call and not just fight a bunch of bums to get a good record, where it really doesn’t help them.

  Q: You return to the Cage this event, what keeps drawing you back to fight?

Lee Mein: Stupidity [laughs]. I was starting to feel real good, [through] my programme, my diet and working out. Opportunities [arose] with my top guys being unavailable and we still needed a main card fight, and I have a couple of my other guys who are doing really well, so I thought it we could make it really exciting if I fight and some of my other main guys fight it would be a really stacked card that people want to see. It’s exciting to get in there and fight when that’s what you’re trained to do. Stuff I have been working on the last year, I want to get in there and try it and see if it works. That’s my motivation to get back in there and fight.

  Q: What kind of fight do you expect against Bobby Kalmakoff?

Lee Mein: We were supposed to do a boxing match a couple of years ago but it didn’t work out. He’s a stand-up fighter. He likes to stand and bang, muay thai and the karate he does. He said, “He wanted to fight on the show” and I replied, “I don’t have any heavyweights right now.” He said, “I want to fight you.” Then I said, “I’m not planning fighting right now…but you’re right, let’s do it.” I’m going to throw hard and if I get a clinch I’m going to take him down and work my ground game, submit him or pound him out. And if I catch him standing, or if he catches me standing that’s the way it goes. It should be an entertaining fight one way or another, somebody’s getting knocked out.

  Visit www.rumbleinthecage.com for tickets and PPV info.

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