Jason House on Bringing MMA Talent to ‘The Darkside’

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 247 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Since 2008, Iridium Sports Agency has grown immensely, from a fledgling talent agency to one that now manages the vibrant futures of Ultimate Fighting Championship talents Casey Kenney, Montel Jackson and Ricky Simon, as well as established stars like former Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus and UFC veterans Eryk Anders and Chan Sung Jung. The agency’s CEO and co-founder Jason House believes that management is important in a fighter’s career from the very beginning, and he is only too happy to explain why he believes that Iridium is a fighter’s best choice.

“You need management early on in your career, to kind of guide [you and help you] navigate through the regional scene in MMA,” House told Sherdog. “I’ve seen a lot of times where young up-and-coming fighters have taken losses, or the wrong opportunities, early in their career because the they’re pressing. They want to get to where they want to go very fast and they’re struggling to get there. A lot of times, that has to do with the fact that they’re being reactive and not proactive, in the sense that you don’t have someone who’s proactively pushing your name to these regional shows to get you the right opportunities,” House explained. “I think also, it’s good to start building that relationship and forming your team when you’re young. Because the better I learn and understand you, the better I can serve you.”

In this conversation with Sherdog, the former Outback Steakhouse server spoke about finding and signing talent to the agency, the recent addition of Jung to the roster, if he feels the industry is as strong as it’s ever been, if sponsorships are still a good revenue source for fighters, working with a plethora of athlete personalities and trying to keep them all happy, where “the dark side” hashtag originated from and much more.