Mitchell Chamale turned a $20,000 gamble into one of Florida’s longest-running MMA promotions, but the road to building Combat Night MMA came with losses far bigger than money.
In Episode 294 of The Danza Project, Mitchell sits down with Danza to tell the full story behind Combat Night MMA. From growing up in Polk County, wrestling, college cheerleading and eventually becoming a professional fighter, to putting his savings on the line and building a fight promotion alongside his best friend and co-founder, the late UFC fighter Josh Samman.
Mitchell opens up about losing Josh at a pivotal moment in their journey, becoming a father just months later, and ultimately deciding to keep pushing forward with the company they started together.
He also breaks down the business behind MMA that fans rarely see: promoting nearly 200 events, losing money to keep Combat Night alive during the pandemic, developing future UFC talent, sponsorships, social media, fighter-first promotion, the difference between talented fighters and future champions, and why it took nearly a decade before he truly felt Combat Night had made it.
Mitchell also discusses his own fighting career, entrepreneurship, family, recovery, training at 41, and the mentality that's kept him building for more than a decade.
From fighter to promoter. From tragedy to legacy. This is the story behind Combat Night MMA.
#MitchellChamale #CombatNightMMA #TheDanzaProject #MMA #UFC
Timestamps for Mitchell Chamale
0:00 - Intro
1:45 - Taking the Danza Project Outside | Combat night MMA
3:11 - Michell’s Journey from cheerleading to MMA | Starting an MMA Business & running events
9:27 - The Joshua Samman MMA Foundation | Polk County & Grady Judd
11:28 - Did fighting create the Entrepreneur in Mitchell? | The love for fighting
PART 2
14:15 - The Transfer to outside the Cage
18:00 - Problem Solving with Combat Night MMA | 15 years of Combat Night events | 10 years to success
22:59 - Losing Josh | What separates Combat night from other events?
PART 3
27:54 - The Understanding & difficulty of running promotions | Keeping composure & Navigating through
34:11 - Landing and Renewing Sponsorships in a violent sport
37:33 - Marketing on Social Media & Studying algorithms
41:39 - Combat night transitioning to a Media Company
PART 4
42:45 - Selecting Fighters for Events | Champions vs Talented Fighters | Peptides & Blue Fit
55:00 - Companies: Tougher to build or sustain?
57:36 - Being optimistic | Covid event challenge | Problem Solving
58:51 - Rapid fire questions
1:03:13 - Information for Combat Nights & Upcoming events | Funny story before the Podcast
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