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Wurlitzer: Abbi...What's your avatar history in Second Life been like?

Abbi: Well I started out just hanging around like everyone else does. Went to some dance clubs (I never stripped LOL!) then I found MMA fighting HUDS at a gym called Rage. Met some people at other gyms like Averlast.

Wurlitzer: What is MMA Fight Club and how did you get involved, Abbi? 

Abbi: MMA FC is just a place to hang out with friends, fight with the C.E. HUD (Combat Evolution by Abranimations), and have fun. I got involved with the gym when it was about 2 weeks old. I helped the founder, BigTom Stratten, with some little details and he made me staff. When he left the gym, Pez String, Josh Piper, and myself took over.

Wurlitzer: What was your inspiration for coming into Second Life? 

Abbi: My friends definately.

We all have so much fun it’s hard to stay away.

Wurlitzer: Where is MMA Fight Club located?

Abbi: We are located at: Atlantis World, Fighters Paradise

HTTP://slurl.com/secondlife/Atlantis%20World/23/45/22

 

Wurlitzer: What can you expect to find at MMA Fight Club? 

Abbi: We have one large ring in the main room at the gym for sparring as well as a store to get the CE HUDs, fight clothing, wraps for your hands and feet, and camping. Other than our Gym, we provide Apartments available for rent and stores.

Wurlitzer: Who are the staff involved with MMA Fight Club, & what are their roles?

Abbi: Pez String and Josh Piper and I are the owners; we all work as a team. Hawk Feldman is the newest of our staff; he helps us build and has a vendor in the store. We also have Derrick Cult, Dru Belford, Rage Jayaram, Hartman Spizel, Rez Mubble, Crook Bravin, Paula Wilcox, Woody Sweetwater, and Britney76271 Winkler on staff to help train new fighters, run tournaments, and just help around the gym where ever needed.

Wurlitzer: Is it easy to become an MMA Fight Club Boxer, Abbi?

Abbi: Our group is open enrollment so anyone can get updates and jump into this exciting world

Wurlitzer: How do I become an MMA Fight Club Boxer?

 Abbi: Just come on down the gym, buy the HUD, and we will teach you. Training is free.

Wurlitzer: How much does it costs to purchase gloves? 

Abbi: Well we don't do the outdated scripted gloves like other places. We’ve moved on to a more advanced HUD. You can purchase one of several fighting style HUDs at our gym for 995L. I know it seems like a lot but it’s completely worth it.

Wurlitzer: If you have other gloves than MMA Fight Club gloves, can you use them here?

Abbi: We welcome all fighting styles. If you chose to use scripted gloves from other places that’s fine. However they don't work with the CE HUDs so we don't do tournaments with anything other than the CE HUDs.

Wurlitzer: Abbi, How much does it pay to be MMA Fight Club Boxer?

Abbi: We have several tournaments every day and each "pot" starts at 250L to the winner. Often we get donations so the pot can be larger. For events you can win up to several thousand Linden.

Wurlitzer: Do you have any trainers? 

Abbi: We have several trainers on staff but everyone here can train or teach you to use the HUD, myself and the other owners included. Training is free.

Wurlitzer: What was your first MMA Fight Club experience in SL like, Abbi? 

Abbi: My first experience at MMA FC was very funny actually. I was very depressed and about to leave the game when a friend of mine brought me to "this new place" I just had to see before I left. When I showed up everyone was on horses joking around except the founder Tom. Well, he felt left out so he got on this very small tricycle. And if you know Tom you would see the humor in this because he is a VERY large man. His knees were up to his ears and it looked very uncomfortable. He then showed me around the gym and they had their first big event a couple days later and it was packed out. I knew I was home.

Wurlitzer: How do the tournaments work? 

Abbi: Usually we have a small 8-fighter tournament. Each fight is single round elimination until the final match which is 3 rounds. Winner takes the whole pot. Every week we also have big events for our best fighters in each class.

 

Wurlitzer: Can anybody enter tournaments?

Abbi: Anyone with a CE HUD is more than welcome to join the tournaments. We have different classes so newer fighters have a better chance of winning.

Wurlitzer: How long has MMA Fight Club existed?

Abbi: BigTom Stratten started MMA FC back in December 2008. We are one of the newer clubs but we grew quickly and are here to stay.

Wurlitzer: How many locations has it gone through?

Abbi: We’ve gone through 3 different sims but I think we are going to stay at the one we are at for a while.

Wurlitzer: Do you have any plans to expand? 

Abbi: No, we like it here and we like to stay small. More personal

Wurlitzer: Has anybody helped you out, Abbi? 

Abbi: Karine Koba from Averlast gym, EastCoastTony Dubois from BadAzz gym, and Gregory Siamendes from G&M gym have helped us a lot as well as many others through the last few months.

Wurlitzer: Are you the same person in RL as you are in SL?

Abbi: I do my best not to change who I really am but it’s always hard to tell. I was told that I’m less shy in SL then I am in RL but I’m not shy at all in RL so I’m not sure what that means LOL!

Wurlitzer: Do you have any plans on what you would eventually like to do in SL? 

Abbi: I’d love to see our gym move to the number one slot in SL and do really well. Other than that I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and stay on top of the latest MMA fighting styles SL has to offer.

Wurlitzer: Right now, - is your Second Life, what you want it to be? 

Abbi: It’s exactly what I want. My friends/family and gym couldn't get better yet we always find a way to improve.

Wurlitzer: If you didn't have MMA Fight Club, what would you have done instead? 

Abbi: I honestly don't know. I think before I found MMA fighting I just tumbled around aimlessly lost. And I enjoyed fighting at rage and the other gyms. But MMA FC is my home.

Wurlitzer: Is there a group to join for MMA Fight Club?

 Abbi: Yes. We have the MMA FC group. Free and open to enroll. We send out group notices when we have events and tournaments as well as when we make updates and changes.

Wurlitzer: What kind of exclusive membership perks would you get for joining the MMA Fight Club group? 

Abbi: When you've been around enough and become skilled with the HUD you will be moved to a higher fight class. The higher the fight class the bigger the winners pay. But we don't discriminate or exclude anyone from having fun at our gym.

Wurlitzer: How many members would you say are active in the MMA Fight Club group? 

Abbi: Over all we have 300+ members and I’d say 80% were active when we have events and tournaments. And we always have at least 2 or 3 very welcoming fun people at the gym to help you.

Wurlitzer: What kind of events do you have at MMA Fight Club?

Abbi: We usually only do CE fighting events but we have had some parties here just for fun. We have a club upstairs with a full bar and stripper poles anyone is welcome to jump on LOL!

Wurlitzer: How many boxers do you currently have at MMA Fight Club? 

Abbi: We have 92 Semi-pro fighters, and 13 pro fighters. Everyone in the group is considered an amateur fighter.

Wurlitzer: What time is MMA Fight Club best open at?

Abbi: It’s not uncommon to find someone here 24/7 but usually afternoons and evenings are best for traffic.

Wurlitzer: How long are the boxing matches? 

Abbi: A single round can take only about 2 minutes but on the rare case they have taken up to 10 minutes. We usually call it around 10 minutes if it's taking too long we get the winner by who has the highest health left.

Wurlitzer: What are some of the rules that boxers must follow in order to respect MMA Fight Club? 

Abbi: Always show respect to our owners and staff. No verbal fighting in local chat but shit talk is always welcome in a fun manner, all fighting stays in the ring, no weapons, no griefing, and basic manners mostly.

Wurlitzer: Who designed the layout for MMA Fight Club?

Abbi: Josh Piper built the gym but Pez and I had a lot of input with it.

Wurlitzer: What makes you feel that MMA Fight Club is different than most any other boxing clubs/arena in Second Life? 

Abbi: We have a calm relaxed feeling about us. We stick to the rules but we aren't really strict. We’re very "go with the flow" and a lot of other gyms are very strict with their rules. We do keep it fair for everyone though.

Wurlitzer: How do you see the future of Second life to be...will it be geared towards more education? 

Abbi: I’m not real sure. I think second life is a place for all kinds of opportunities, education, advertisement, and fun.

Wurlitzer: What do you do in RL? 

Abbi: In RL I am a mom a MMA student and a marine wife/sister/daughter.

Wurlitzer: How did you get your ideas into SL? 

Abbi: Mostly I just see what works and doesn't work and adjust to what our fighters and fans want.

Wurlitzer: Do you have any sponsors?

Abbi: Yes, Toxicity Night club owned by Kael Kronfeld.

Wurlitzer: What are some of MMA Fight Club main goals? 

Abbi: Just to have fun and introduce people to MMA.

Wurlitzer: What are some of the drawbacks that your experiencing with MMA Fight Club?

Abbi: We've had issues with other gyms giving out landmarks to their gym but what they don't understand is we don't care if our fighters fight at other gyms. We don't compete with other gyms because we know what we have to offer and people will always come back.

Wurlitzer: Other than MMA Fight Club, are there any other places that you have in SL?

Abbi: No, I don't have time for anything else. I’m focused on MMA Fight Club.

Wurlitzer: How do you keep transparency in making sure who you are in RL becomes the same in SL?

Abbi: I think it would be harder to act differently on here. To change your personality at anytime would be against the grain and therefore harder to do.

Wurlitzer: What do you like to do in your spare time in SL? 

Abbi: Spare time? What’s that? LOL! I guess I just hang out with my best friends Latrommi Felwitch, Ever Heart, and Poptart Felwitch.

Wurlitzer: What made you decide to market MMA Fight Club and how do you go about promoting MMA Fight Club? 

Abbi: Well there are a lot of gyms that offer something very similar to MMA FC but they never really felt like home to me. So when I found MMA FC I knew I just had to be a part of it. As far as promoting goes... if you search for MMA in the property search we try to stay in the top 5 on the list. Other than that it’s just word of mouth.