WITH ATHLETES FROM these shores at the forefront of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s expansion in Europe, it’s perhaps fitting that there’s another Irishman at the wheel on the business front.
Around 18 months ago, Dubliner Dave Allen joined the world’s leading mixed martial arts organisation — despite having no previous knowledge or experience of the sport — and earlier this year he was appointed to the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa — the top job at the UFC for the EMEA region.
His route into the Ultimate Fighting Championship came via close friend Garry Cook, the former Manchester City CEO, who’s now at the top table for the UFC in Las Vegas as the company’s Chief Global Brand Officer and Head of International Development.
The pair first became acquainted over 15 years ago while working together at Nike (Allen has also worked for Adidas and Umbro). In a variety of capacities, Dave Allen has spent the majority of his working life in sport — including several years as a referee in the League of Ireland in the 1990s.
But nowadays, the MMA circuit is Allen’s beat. He’s grateful for where he’s ended up, even if it wasn’t quite his intended destination. The journey began in October 2013 when the UFC visited Manchester. Garry Cook invited some old friends along to watch the action, so Allen decided to make the short journey from his home in Cheshire.
“About 10 us went along as curious spectators and we decided to use it as a night-out. None of us had ever been to an event before but we were all converted by the end of it. And I think that happens with anyone who goes to a UFC event,” Allen explained to The42.
“Once you go, you’re hooked. You may walk out of there and say that’s not for me, but you will never say it wasn’t a great spectacle, or a great sporting event, or a great night-out. It may not be for you and that’s okay. People have a choice and I understand that.
“Cricket’s not for me. I love going because it’s a great day-out, but I just don’t take to the sport. It doesn’t do it for me. After that night in Manchester, I talked with Garry [Cook] about what the opportunities were and what could happen.”
At the time, Allen had just taken some time out after moving on from his role as General Manager at Umbro. He was in no hurry to begin his next challenge, but when Cook offered him an opportunity to join the UFC, it was too good to turn down.
“I was just blown away that night in Manchester; number one, by the athletes, but number two, by the opportunity of UFC and mixed martial arts. We will be — we already are in some markets — mainstream. We’re not a niche sport, we’re not a small sport, we’re actually a huge organisation.
“Garry was building a team, so I said I’ll come in and give you a hand for a couple of months. That was my entry, but I got the bug. I really did. I thought, we’re on to something really good here.”
The UFC were in the process of altering the role of their London office, which had previously been responsible for almost all UFC activity outside of North America. But the organisation recognised that in order to maximise their potential in Europe — and elsewhere — a change of approach was required.
Advertisement
Allen continued: “What Garry put in place was that we had to centralise ourselves and have the London office focus on the European market; have a team of people who woke up every morning and thought about nothing other than our European market.
“If you take last year, we ran five events [in EMEA], we had numerous broadcast deals across the continent, and we’ve grown the business at a phenomenal rate — far beyond anything I would have dreamt of.
Former Manchester City CEO Garry Cook introduced Dave Allen to the UFC. Mike Egerton / EMPICS Sport
Mike Egerton / EMPICS Sport / EMPICS Sport
“And we said, let’s see what this thing brings. We were four people in the London office when I joined, we’re 16 now. But that’s still a very small team. That’s 16 people putting on events, signing TV deals, working with sponsors… that requires a lot. It doesn’t just happen.”
Allen believes the UFC’s journey in the EMEA region is just beginning — “we’re only scratching the surface at the moment” — but the early indications have been encouraging. And nowhere has there been more progress than here in Ireland.
Already this year they’ve staged the largest ever MMA event in Europe (in Stockholm in January) but Allen has a few other objectives in his sights. One priority is to bring the UFC to France for the first time, but a Croke Park event is another long-term aspiration.
In January, UFC president Dana White temporarily poured cold water on the prospect of the organisation visiting GAA headquarters, but should Conor McGregor defeat Jose Aldo and claim the UFC featherweight title this summer, it’s likely to become a hot topic again.
“There are a lot of dominoes that have to fall on that one,” said Allen. “If Conor wins and wants to defend his title in his home country, it would have to be on a pay-TV model. We’re a commercial organisation, that’s how we make our living.
“To do that, we have to satisfy the needs of the United States market, which means we would have to be putting the fight on at different hours than normal. We did it in Sweden and the Swedish government got behind us. Stockholm City got behind us and the reason they did is that they had an income of in excess of $15m into the city that weekend. There were benefits for them.
“What we would need here is the city working with us, to allow the licensing — we don’t want a Garth Brooks situation — and a couple of other things we need to work on too. We would love nothing better than to come to Croke Park or the Aviva [Stadium].”
There are several obstacles separating the UFC and Croke Park, and chief among them is Dublin City Council’s 11pm curfew for live events. As Allen mentioned, that would prevent a pay-per-view broadcast for the US market. The UFC are hopeful that an exemption could be agreed upon, however, and there’s already been dialogue.
Allen said: “We’ve been talking with them [Dublin City Council]. But that’s a long way down the road. Jose [Aldo] does not want to give up his title, so it’s a long way down the road. If it can happen, and all the stars line up, I’d love nothing better.
“It’s about the euphoria it would bring to the city, it’s about the income that the UFC would bring in… the whole world would be looking at Dublin. Think about that from a tourism perspective. It would be absolutely amazing.”
Nevertheless, there are plenty of other challenges to keep Dave Allen and his London-based UFC team busy, starting with tonight’s landmark first event in Poland.
Reflecting on his time in MMA so far, Allen said: “I’ve been a very lucky guy. I started out as a young kid, like my son Robbie, wanting to be a professional footballer… or a professional sportsperson in general. I couldn’t do it on the field of play, so instead I’ve become a professional sportsperson in business.
“You can’t get any better than what I do. I’m living a dream. I used to live a dream of standing beside Ronaldo and the great footballers of the world. I used to live a dream of standing beside the great tennis players, the great runners of the world… now I’m living the dream of standing beside the great combat sports personalities.
“I’m living in the world of sport, and everything I wanted to achieve on the field of play, I’m now achieving in business. But at the end of the day, it starts and finishes with the athletes. And that’s where I’ve been very lucky. It’s been a very special ride. Not just this year, but right through my career.”
The pitches of the League of Ireland were seldom places for the faint-hearted throughout the 90s — Allen probably saw more violence there than in the octagon — but he has held on to the great memories and tales from those days.
“A lot of them are probably not repeatable on record,” laughed Allen, who grew up near Shamrock Rovers’ old home at Milltown. “But I had some great times and we had some great footballers. There was some fantastic camaraderie that still lives with me today.
“Pat Morley [ex-Cork City and Shelbourne striker] has been a colleague and friend of mine for over 20 years. We worked together at Adidas, but I refereed him on the park too and he was a great character.
“You had Pat down in Cork, Dermot Keely at Dundalk who I had many run-ins with, but [he is] absolutely one of the nicest guys you could ever meet walking down the street. A superb guy.
“I was there the day that Derry City entered the League of Ireland, and that to me was a landmark in itself. That was an exceptional thing, especially at the time it happened. We weren’t living in the same country that we’re living in today.
“For Derry City to be entered into the League of Ireland and for me to be able to drive up and go to the Brandywell and officiate at games there, that was something very, very special.”
From League of Ireland referee to Europe's main man in the UFC
WITH ATHLETES FROM these shores at the forefront of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s expansion in Europe, it’s perhaps fitting that there’s another Irishman at the wheel on the business front.
Around 18 months ago, Dubliner Dave Allen joined the world’s leading mixed martial arts organisation — despite having no previous knowledge or experience of the sport — and earlier this year he was appointed to the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa — the top job at the UFC for the EMEA region.
His route into the Ultimate Fighting Championship came via close friend Garry Cook, the former Manchester City CEO, who’s now at the top table for the UFC in Las Vegas as the company’s Chief Global Brand Officer and Head of International Development.
The pair first became acquainted over 15 years ago while working together at Nike (Allen has also worked for Adidas and Umbro). In a variety of capacities, Dave Allen has spent the majority of his working life in sport — including several years as a referee in the League of Ireland in the 1990s.
But nowadays, the MMA circuit is Allen’s beat. He’s grateful for where he’s ended up, even if it wasn’t quite his intended destination. The journey began in October 2013 when the UFC visited Manchester. Garry Cook invited some old friends along to watch the action, so Allen decided to make the short journey from his home in Cheshire.
“About 10 us went along as curious spectators and we decided to use it as a night-out. None of us had ever been to an event before but we were all converted by the end of it. And I think that happens with anyone who goes to a UFC event,” Allen explained to The42.
“Cricket’s not for me. I love going because it’s a great day-out, but I just don’t take to the sport. It doesn’t do it for me. After that night in Manchester, I talked with Garry [Cook] about what the opportunities were and what could happen.”
At the time, Allen had just taken some time out after moving on from his role as General Manager at Umbro. He was in no hurry to begin his next challenge, but when Cook offered him an opportunity to join the UFC, it was too good to turn down.
“I was just blown away that night in Manchester; number one, by the athletes, but number two, by the opportunity of UFC and mixed martial arts. We will be — we already are in some markets — mainstream. We’re not a niche sport, we’re not a small sport, we’re actually a huge organisation.
“Garry was building a team, so I said I’ll come in and give you a hand for a couple of months. That was my entry, but I got the bug. I really did. I thought, we’re on to something really good here.”
The UFC were in the process of altering the role of their London office, which had previously been responsible for almost all UFC activity outside of North America. But the organisation recognised that in order to maximise their potential in Europe — and elsewhere — a change of approach was required.
Allen continued: “What Garry put in place was that we had to centralise ourselves and have the London office focus on the European market; have a team of people who woke up every morning and thought about nothing other than our European market.
“If you take last year, we ran five events [in EMEA], we had numerous broadcast deals across the continent, and we’ve grown the business at a phenomenal rate — far beyond anything I would have dreamt of.
“And we said, let’s see what this thing brings. We were four people in the London office when I joined, we’re 16 now. But that’s still a very small team. That’s 16 people putting on events, signing TV deals, working with sponsors… that requires a lot. It doesn’t just happen.”
Allen believes the UFC’s journey in the EMEA region is just beginning — “we’re only scratching the surface at the moment” — but the early indications have been encouraging. And nowhere has there been more progress than here in Ireland.
Already this year they’ve staged the largest ever MMA event in Europe (in Stockholm in January) but Allen has a few other objectives in his sights. One priority is to bring the UFC to France for the first time, but a Croke Park event is another long-term aspiration.
In January, UFC president Dana White temporarily poured cold water on the prospect of the organisation visiting GAA headquarters, but should Conor McGregor defeat Jose Aldo and claim the UFC featherweight title this summer, it’s likely to become a hot topic again.
“There are a lot of dominoes that have to fall on that one,” said Allen. “If Conor wins and wants to defend his title in his home country, it would have to be on a pay-TV model. We’re a commercial organisation, that’s how we make our living.
“To do that, we have to satisfy the needs of the United States market, which means we would have to be putting the fight on at different hours than normal. We did it in Sweden and the Swedish government got behind us. Stockholm City got behind us and the reason they did is that they had an income of in excess of $15m into the city that weekend. There were benefits for them.
There are several obstacles separating the UFC and Croke Park, and chief among them is Dublin City Council’s 11pm curfew for live events. As Allen mentioned, that would prevent a pay-per-view broadcast for the US market. The UFC are hopeful that an exemption could be agreed upon, however, and there’s already been dialogue.
Allen said: “We’ve been talking with them [Dublin City Council]. But that’s a long way down the road. Jose [Aldo] does not want to give up his title, so it’s a long way down the road. If it can happen, and all the stars line up, I’d love nothing better.
“It’s about the euphoria it would bring to the city, it’s about the income that the UFC would bring in… the whole world would be looking at Dublin. Think about that from a tourism perspective. It would be absolutely amazing.”
Nevertheless, there are plenty of other challenges to keep Dave Allen and his London-based UFC team busy, starting with tonight’s landmark first event in Poland.
Reflecting on his time in MMA so far, Allen said: “I’ve been a very lucky guy. I started out as a young kid, like my son Robbie, wanting to be a professional footballer… or a professional sportsperson in general. I couldn’t do it on the field of play, so instead I’ve become a professional sportsperson in business.
“You can’t get any better than what I do. I’m living a dream. I used to live a dream of standing beside Ronaldo and the great footballers of the world. I used to live a dream of standing beside the great tennis players, the great runners of the world… now I’m living the dream of standing beside the great combat sports personalities.
“I’m living in the world of sport, and everything I wanted to achieve on the field of play, I’m now achieving in business. But at the end of the day, it starts and finishes with the athletes. And that’s where I’ve been very lucky. It’s been a very special ride. Not just this year, but right through my career.”
The pitches of the League of Ireland were seldom places for the faint-hearted throughout the 90s — Allen probably saw more violence there than in the octagon — but he has held on to the great memories and tales from those days.
“A lot of them are probably not repeatable on record,” laughed Allen, who grew up near Shamrock Rovers’ old home at Milltown. “But I had some great times and we had some great footballers. There was some fantastic camaraderie that still lives with me today.
“Pat Morley [ex-Cork City and Shelbourne striker] has been a colleague and friend of mine for over 20 years. We worked together at Adidas, but I refereed him on the park too and he was a great character.
“You had Pat down in Cork, Dermot Keely at Dundalk who I had many run-ins with, but [he is] absolutely one of the nicest guys you could ever meet walking down the street. A superb guy.
“I was there the day that Derry City entered the League of Ireland, and that to me was a landmark in itself. That was an exceptional thing, especially at the time it happened. We weren’t living in the same country that we’re living in today.
“For Derry City to be entered into the League of Ireland and for me to be able to drive up and go to the Brandywell and officiate at games there, that was something very, very special.”
26 signs that you’re an Irish MMA hipster
Ronda Rousey goes off on Walmart for not selling her book in stores
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
dave allen Editor's picks Interview Irish Takeover MMA UFC