It’s difficult to talk about MMA in Hawaii without mentioning the name, TJay Thompson. His name is synonymous with Hawaii MMA. From the days of SuperBrawl to Icon Sport, and now with the return of ProElite to Hawaii, TJay’s longtime passion for MMA has put Hawaii on the map for grooming some of the most talented MMA fighters in the world.
In the mid-90s, TJay pioneered the sport of MMA in Hawaii through his successful SuperBrawl promotion, running it completely on his own. Fast forward 15 or so years, he is now the Head of Fight Operations for ProElite, who recently held its second successful event in Hawaii since its reincarnation last August. TJay has not only proven himself to be a legendary promoter in Hawaii, but he continues to share his passion for MMA in a positive light – becoming an advocate for the prevention of bullying in Hawaii schools.
Despite his busy schedule prior to last Saturday’s event, MMAsucka got a chance to sit down with Tjay and talk a little more about ProElite’s new partnership with Dream and what Hawaii fans (and fans throughout the world) can expect from ProElite in the future.
Tell us about the history of MMA in Hawaii and how you played a role in it.
The history of MMA in Hawaii started as early as 1995. We started at a small bar called Gussie L’amores. If you look at the quick transgression of it, in the late 90s… at the time it was called NHB, it was banned on cable and Senator McCain was calling it human cockfighting. We were actually treating it as a legitimate sport. And in Hawaii, more importantly, the major press was. At the time we had all four major networks and both local newspapers covering it as a sport. Hawaii was way ahead and Hawaii has a rich tradition in warrior culture dating back 500-600 years. And I think that had a lot to do with how the fans embraced it from the beginning and really respected the athletes as well as our close connection with the Asian community in martial arts.
Since you were the visionary of MMA in Hawaii, what do you see for the future of it here now that ProElite is back for the second time and how have you seen it evolve since the beginning of your days as a promoter?
It is simple when I look at the staff at the weigh in today… the staff that I have working of 15 people that flew in. It was just me in the old days. I’m also working for a pubic company. ProElite is a public company and I have shareholders that I basically feel like I’m working for them. It’s grown leaps and bounds.
First and foremost, we tend to be a television show. We’re live on HDNet. That is our broadcast partner. But anyone that has been to a live MMA event understands that there is nothing like being there live. And that’s exciting in Hawaii… and I fought really hard to be in Hawaii. Remember, Hawaii is a lot more expensive to produce this show from. I had to sell the Board of Directors and my CEO that it’s worth it because the fans there bring such an energy, and that energy is going to transmit through the cable, through the television boxes, through the satellites (I think), and into the peoples’ homes that are watching.
How do you feel about ProElite’s second chance in Hawaii and what are you doing differently this time around? Talk to us about the recent partnership between DREAM and ProElite.
That’s probably the biggest news if you talk about it. I’m a fan first. I’m excited to be part of this company. But tomorrow afternoon here in Hawaii when the first fight starts, my phone gets shut off. I’m not gonna be bothered. I’m gonna enjoy the fights. If an emergency comes up, we got people that can take care of it or it doesn’t get taken care of. I’m there to watch the fights and I’m excited about that. Now with that said, I am a huge fan of Japanese MMA dating back to the Pride days. I’ve been to more than a dozen live shows in Japan. I spent a big part of my earnings with SuperBrawl in the old days just flying over and watching Japanese shows and also dating back as early as Shooto in the vale tudo Japan shows. So excited to have this partnership where we may have, in the very near future, a co-produced show in Hawaii – a DREAM ProElite show… and that’s pretty exciting to look forward to.
What can Hawaii fans expect from ProElite in the future? Is ProElite going to help the local fighters get out there?
It’s really simple and we talked about it in our pre-fight rules briefing/pep talk. The undercard always kinda gets ignored. And the undercard again is full of local fighters. The national audience has no idea whose fighting on the undercard and there are some great fights. The last time we were in Hawaii, Kaleo Gambill and Brent Schermerhorn were ignored on the undercard and had two fantastic performances. They are on national tv tomorrow. There isn’t a fighter on the undercard that doesn’t have the potential to be on national tv six weeks from now. And that’s exciting. So yes, I hope we can give hope to local fighters and all throughout the world that we have on our cards. We wanna bring them… I personally want to have Hawaii fighters be seen by a bigger audience.
How many ProElite events can Hawaii fans look forward to in Hawaii?
I would love to do two times a year. We’re an LA-based company so we’re based out of California and we’re gonna do shows worldwide. I don’t know that Hawaii will be our home, but it is certainly my home, and I think that if we’re here twice a year, I certainly wouldn’t complain.
With TJay’s continued passion for MMA and his hometown, Hawaii fighters and fans can be sure that TJay, along with ProElite matchmaker, Rich Chou (who is also considered a Hawaii boy), recognize the impact of Hawaii MMA and will continue to help showcase that to the rest of the world.
