UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard offers insight on scouting regional talent

UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard gave a rare insight into the process of scouting talent for the promotion.

Maynard, who started as an MMA promoter in 2006, has been around the fight game for quite some time, with a unique eye for talent. After running Legacy Fighting Championship as owner and president, he was hired by the UFC as the vice president of talent relations in 2016 alongside senior vice president of talent relations Sean Shelby. The pair make up the UFC’s matchmaking team, creating fights that occur week in and week out.

“There’s so many aspects that Sean and I really concentrate on,” Maynard started in a video posted to TKO Group’s social media. “Obviously, you got to look at the record. You have to look at, are they finishing fights? Quite frankly, if they’re not finishing fights on the regional level, they’re not going to come into the biggest league in the world and finish people, and that’s important.”

Shelby is the matchmaker for the men’s bantamweight through welterweight divisions, while Maynard is responsible for the women’s divisions, men’s flyweight and middleweight to heavyweight divisions.

Currently, fighters have several paths to enter the UFC. A hopeful can be offered a contract to enter the promotion directly, be selected after an impressive performance on Dana White’s Contender Series, win a season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” or win the Road to UFC tournament.

“Obviously, you look for talent first, and you want them to be the best fighters in the world, but then every now and then you’ll get a Conor McGregor that has this personality that’s off the charts, and you have a whole new animal, you have superstars. … All of those things combined, we take into account.”

@ufc Matchmaker Mick Maynard takes us through the process of identifying talent pic.twitter.com/VdF2mJil0H

— TKO (@TKOGrp) May 15, 2024