True to my word, after writing a piece expressing my skepticism about the numbers being reported (or suggested) for Invicta FC’s second show last weekend, I got in touch with the organisation’s president, Shannon Knapp.
Via email, I laid all my cards on the table, sharing a link to the post and my honest feeling of surprise that the all-female organisation has been bringing in incredible numbers through two shows.
A couple hours later, the ping of my Inbox alerted me to a reply from the long-time MMA industry veteran, who invited me to call and discuss my skepticism.
What followed was a 30 minute conversation where the Invicta FC boss did her best to connect the dots on the circumstances and contributions that have brought the start-up organisation incredible success through two shows.
“Do I have the data to support what I say? Absolutely. Would I take a lie detector test? Absolutely, 100 percent,” said Knapp when we spoke earlier in the week, her tone appropriately aggressive given that she and the company have come under fire about their early run of success.
“You know EdgeCast is a really good company, right? Do you think they’re going to give me data, do you think they’re going to falsify records for me? I’m defensive because it’s so irritating. Do you know what I mean?
“It’s irritating to me that everybody doubts. We can’t win. If I put them out there or I just say we did better – I didn’t say we did 600,000 or anything like that; I said we did better.”
Knapp refuses to give out the exact number that last weekend’s second Invicta FC show generated from its live stream, explaining that it’s a matter of wanting to keep the focus on the fighters.
As for why the organisation is having such unprecedented success streaming their fights via their website, there isn’t one specific thing Knapp can point to to explain how a show headlined by Sara McMann and Shayna Baszler drew significantly more viewers than any of the fights offered by the UFC on Facebook over the last year.
Instead, she believes Invicta FC is benefitting from a “perfect storm” of circumstances and support, and regardless of what’s creating it, Knapp just hopes they’re able to maintain their level of success as the organisation continues to move forward.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but I’m telling you I’m not a lie. I didn’t make up this stuff,” said Knapp.
“Is it unique? Is it different? I wish I could tell you exactly what is making the difference. I could tell you a lot of things that it could be, but I really don’t have one concrete answer. I’m as speechless as you are and the next person. I don’t know what to say. It’s happening, and it’s surreal to me.
“Is it just the market right now, that everybody is looking for something fresh and new? Is it the passion and the connection that these women fight with? Is it that the males in the sport aren’t promoting as much as the girls?
It could be one of a million different things. Is it the fact that everyone I’ve ever helped in this business is now coming out to help me? I don’t think it’s just one thing.
“Is it that no other promoter is silly enough to give out their phone number?” continued Knapp, who said she fielded countless calls and texts during the second Invicta show, and replied to each and every one of them, including throughout the early part of the broadcast when the stream wasn’t working.
“Is it that personal level of service we’re giving? Is it that we’re “The Little Engine That Could” and everyone is getting behind us, propping us up? It could be every one of those things, but the one thing it’s not is me inflating these numbers and lying. I have no reason.”
One of the reasons that was suggested to me when my initial column came out was the amount of promotional time put in by the fighters on Twitter and other forms of social media. Knapp believes that is definitely a piece of the puzzle, and the more I think about it, the more I’m beginning to feel the same way.
Unlike their male counterparts, the female fighters on the Invicta roster whole heartedly embraced the media attention that came with last weekend’s show.
That’s not to say there aren’t UFC fighters who are warm, welcoming interview subjects or who don’t still enjoy the process, but it’s become old hat to many of them, and an annoyance to some; a necessary evil that takes away from what they’d rather be doing, and one that comes with the same collection of questions every. Single. Time.
As Knapp sees it, part of that comes from the fact that while the men have never met resistance on their way to the cage, female fighters have had to battle tooth and nail just to have the opportunity to compete, and so now that they’re getting a platform of their own, they’re going to do everything they can to help it succeed.
“Could you imagine if every guy that was on a UFC card went out there and promoted that event, and he really pushed. Could you imagine what that would be like? They don’t push it like (our fighters).
“They push their own personal profiles because they get Twitter bonuses for that, but could you imagine if they really went out there, and passionately supported what the promotion was doing? How much better could things maybe be? That’s what our athletes are doing, and I think that’s what’s really making a difference too.
“Social media has been our godsend,” continued Knapp. “I don’t go out and tell the girls, `Raise your numbers.’ What I say to them is, `I’ll give you Twitter bonuses – go out and promote the event. This is your home. You’re my business partner.’
“And they truly are. When I stand in front of them and I give them the pep talk, I don’t say to them, `Go in there and make this fight exciting,’ I say, `This is what you’ve been fighting for. This is your home. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about my business partner, Janet (Martin). This isn’t about the promotion itself. It’s about you. We can provide the platform, but everything is contingent on what you do tomorrow night.'”
For Knapp, there is no concrete answer; no one thing she can point to that has carried Invicta to such incredible numbers out of the gate. It’s a multitude of things all coming together; a “perfect storm” of timing, support, and entertaining fights bringing people in droves to www.invictafc.com.
“I wish I could bottle it up and sell it like you said, but I don’t know if I could walk in tomorrow with a male promotion and do the same thing? I’m going to dance around all over the place trying to give you reasons because there are so many. I don’t think there is just one. I think that the time is right; two years ago, I don’t think you could have done this. The timing is just there.”
Having spent 30 minutes on the phone with Knapp – and a couple hours playing tag on Twitter with people offering their thoughts on what has propelled Invicta to these incredible numbers so early in their existence – I too am starting to believe that the all-female fighting organisation might just have come around at the right time and stumbled upon a winning recipe of exciting fights, heavy use of social media, and no-fuss free streaming online to storm to success right out of the gate.
It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around Invicta FC doing significantly greater numbers online than any other company that has come before them, but it appears that that is exactly what they’re doing. Just because I’m skeptical doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
“I don’t know what to say other than I’m not lying; I have the data to prove it, 100 percent,” Knapp said as a fitting wrap to our conversation.
I believe her. More importantly – and this is something I’ve felt from the start – I believe she and the rest of the team at Invicta FC are doing something incredible for women’s MMA, and I wish them continued success moving forward.
Go ahead and count me among the masses who will be tuning in to Invicta FC 3 on October 6.
Follow The Roar’s UFC Expert E. Spencer Kyte on Twitter (@spencerkyte).
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