Interview: Erik Astramecki & Hector Vasquez talk EUG Promotions - a World-Class BJJ Tournament with a Cash Prize
Check out our breakdowns on some of the EUG competitors:
Matheus Gabriel
Gianni Grippo
Isaac Doederlein
Our man Ben Kohn had the pleasure of speaking to Hector Vasquez and Erik Astramecki, who are the president and CEO respectively of EUG Promotions, which will soon host an eight-man tournament between some of the best 160lb jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world today. Check out what they had to say about their tournament set to go down today, April 3rd LIVE on FloGrappling.
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Hector: Thank you, Ben for having us. We’re two weeks out. I’m very excited and everyone’s healthy. Our production team’s at work this weekend, in collaboration with Flo. Things are coming together.
Erik: Yeah, it’s going to be very exciting to see it all play out. Not sure if you’re a Flo subscriber Ben, but would love to have you out! In all seriousness, Flo has helped out with a lot of the work going into this event and its very appreciated.
Ben: So, you guys are doing something different with tournaments, namely how you guys are going with the gi. Why the gi specifically? How did this event come to be this way?
Hector: I’m a black belt. I’ve got experience with both the gi and without. I’m a two-time world champion in no-gi tournaments, so I’m comfortable there too. To be honest, I just wanted something different for this tournament. I wanted to give the lower weight classes the opportunity to shine as well. We usually see the bigger guys go. We see a lot of talent, but not every talent gets represented. We want our promotion to focus on the lower weights for that reason. We’re not sure what the future holds, but we’re hoping to have superfights – gi or no gi – between maybe former MMA champions too with regular grapplers!
Erik: I’m a huge no-gi guy myself as a brown belt under Rich Castro and Robert Follis. When Hector and I started talking, he was big on the gi here, but I think having hybrid matches is a good idea. Crossovers, like the ones Hector mentioned, could draw different attention from other audiences. Predominantly though, no-gi does tend to be hyped more. Even if there are some amazing world champions in no-gi, I’d argue the gi does have its share that get underrepresented.
Hector: I think some are tired are stalling and 50-50 in most tournaments. We’ve incorporated some scoring rules to ensure those sorts of things don’t happen. If there’s a double guard pull, the first guy to get up gets two points. If you sweep in the 50-50, there’s no points given until you’re completely out of it. There’s no ref’s decision. We’re not doing a bracket where guys are guaranteed to win. Sometimes, certain matches will be random draws. I think it’s fair and gets rid of bias. Keeping the action going is important.
Ben: When it comes to the gi, I think people push away from it because some things don’t apply to no-gi rulesets or practices – I’m not sure people get the differences that wearing a gi incorporates. You’re putting a lot of production is. How are you looking to educate uneducated fans?
Erik: That’s a challenge because jiu-jitsu with the gi has so much less eyes on it. There’s not really a lot of content on gi content. Most you do is IBJJF really. There’s not really a creative room for it. I do think the problem might solve itself once we get these events started though because we’re targeting professionalism with our clips and content here. I think it’s going to organically produce information for fans. I think lack of exposure has been the problem.
Hector: BJJ Fantatics has helped opening things up. A platform or website though? That’ll help gi competitors get some attention too. Personally, I think I have to consider grappling when I’m in the gi more. Both require a lot of ability and both have a lot to love, but credit needs to be given elsewhere.
Ben: Where there any qualifications you looked for when scouting for the tournament? You’ve talked about how you want the highest-level practitioners represented.
Hector: So, I wanted to combine the lightweights and the featherweights from IBJJF weight classes and make some kind of catchweight. Some guys have to cut quite a bit of weight, so I wanted to get a section where I can get a cut of the best of the best. It’s also why we’re looking at bringing in 170lbs names next – I can assure you there are some big names there. I think it creates matches we might not have seen otherwise.
Ben: You mentioned rules to keep the action up? What are some of the general rules?
Hector: We’re still mostly doing IBJJF rules, so points. It’s an either/or thing. You passed or didn’t pass; you mounted or you didn’t. We get rid of the “almost” so we have guaranteed points. For stalling, guys who stand up first get points. That way, we encourage guys on the bottom to be active. Also, the last guy who scores? He wins. So, we force guys to work. If we have 0-0, we do go to a ref’s decision. We will have seven-minute matches. Our goal is to push the pace, no feeling out.
Ben: With $10,000 on the line, that’s definitely going to motivate these guys. Erik, you’ve talked about exposure. What kind of thins are you doing to boost promotion and production value?
Erik: It’s very important we have a team. We sort logistics ahead a time. Even more importantly, we’re businessmen, but we’re also BJJ people. We can apply resources – no rush – to make sure this is good. We’re not looking at financials first. We’re looking at impact. If you look at what we’ve got so far, we want to capture fighter stories and have them on the website, which might lead them to the fighter’s social media and vice versa. We want an environment of content, so it’s in their best interest to share it. We’re trying to bring value to them. It’s a partnership. My job is to make sure the grapplers are exposed and they can monetize it. MMA fighters don’t really know nor are given ways to self-promote, even if they’re good. A team behind them can change that and give a foundation. That’s what we’re looking to do. Posters get four likes cause everyone gets a poster. You have to be different. I want an audience to interact with what we’re showing. We want to generate interest and new ways for fan and fighter to interact. Everyone has a role in this.
Hector: You can own a gym, but, if you’re not business-savvy, you won’t get far. I keep it simple, but interactions are important. That keeps people coming. Brands have to be built and that’s what we want to do, especially if you want to sell merchandise like shirts.
Erik: Most grapplers don’t have time to really make their own content. They’re grapplers and competitors. They have to be training. But, if someone comes along and maps the grappler’s content to dozens of different products that can be bought through an easy link? That gives an automatic infrastructure for them. It gives a use.
Hector: This is passive income for them. It gives them an incentive to be on board with what we’re doing.
Erik: The best athletes are probably already doing this too. The idea here is to teach everyone and to give them an in. Sometimes, people just want a coffee mug. Well, we can make that happen.
Ben: This sounds like a good thing for jiu-jistu. EUG is a promotion targeting to treat athletes as athletes. Creating infrastructure for fans means treating athletes as professionals is a good connector.
Erik: We have a disconnect between fan and grappler. Nobody knows who is who unless you follow IBJJF. Growing an ecosystem can fix that. This is an in-progress test, but this is our long-term goal.
Ben: Regarding long-term plans, what are your ideas for building after the first event? What’s the point you want to build to as a promotion – say three to five years?
Hector: First, we want champions by weight classes. Then, we can start thinking about super fights and hybrid content. We’re going to have rankings. If we have a tournament, we might set up a superfight to keep the champion occupied. We want to keep everyone busy and not just have an undercard – everyone is getting exposure. We’re trying to make a big Jiu-Jitsu family. Like, some green belt might be the next big thing. Few years, you can point back and say: Hey, he was on our card! Well-treated athletes will come back. Communication is key. We want transparency. It’s going to depend on what happens – things can change.
Erik: I think some UFC fighters like Gilbert Burns with a BJJ background will have an interest. Since we’re doing this in Las Vegas, we’re setting a standard that we’re trying to set up big matches on one of the biggest stages in the world. The most successful organizations ought to do that because it builds hype.
Hector: Why do you think ADCC comes to Vegas? We’re in a good spot. I’m excited! We’re definitely going to make mistakes, but we’re going to learn and fix them.
Erik: I guarantee, from experience, the long-term is going to help others succeed. Some will get more than others. But every event and success and year will definitely have a ripple effect. We’re at a base level and there will be learning involved. I think our infrastructure matters the most here.
Ben: I feel grappling needs this kind of thing. It’s not superficial. I’m very excited and I believe these matches will be fantastic. Long-term is definitely on your guy’s minds and that’s essential. Any final comments?
Hector: I want to thank sponsors. I’m honored and thankful. Our Instagram is EUG Promotions. Our matchmaker, producer and graphic designer have been invaluable, as has Erik. The athletes, coaches, and so on. We’re looking forward to it.
Ben: Thank you both. This has been a pleasure. I’m incredibly excited myself! Please make sure you follow them. This is one of the best eight-man tournaments I’ve ever seen, especially for jiu-jitsu, this Saturday, April 3rd. It’ll be on Flo Grappling, which you join with a subscription. You don’t want to miss this.