UpNext Fighting Partners with The Schmo for First-Ever TikTok Live of MMA Event

LOS ANGELES — UpNext Fighting, the premier MMA promotion in Southern California, teamed up with combat sports personality “The Schmo” to produce the first-ever TikTok Live of an MMA event on Saturday, May 9.

The two-plus hour social media stream drew more than 8.7M impressions on TikTok's For You Page and 105k unique viewers from around the world, who enjoyed a loaded lineup of six top fights from UNF 33, staged at the sold-out Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA.

The TikTok Live featured a split-screen view with UpNext Fighting's traditional PPV broadcast on the top half and an exclusive stream of commentary, reactions and interviews from The Schmo on the bottom half of the screen.

“Historic night! High-octane action. Electrifying finishes,” said The Schmo, Dave Schmulenson, who also interacted with fans throughout the stream. “UNF 33 brought the intensity fans expect from elite MMA and introduced a whole new audience to the future of live fight entertainment on TikTok.”

Founded in 2022, UpNext Promotions has taken the California combat scene by storm, showcasing the top fighters throughout the region in 33 UpNext Fighting events, including recent, current and future UFC fighters, such as Christopher “Taco” Padilla (4-0-1 in UFC).

“UpNext Fighting has quickly become the most popular regional MMA brand in California because we spotlight ‘The Future of the Fight Game’ in high-quality and professional productions,” said UpNext Promotion's CEO & Rising Stars Matchmaker Ryan Buckner. “We are always looking to put on the most competitive and entertaining shows, whether for our sold-out crowds in Los Angeles, or for MMA fans around the country on TikTok Live.”

Following the success of the initial TikTok Live, UpNext Promotions plans to offer fans another live look at UNF 34, coming up on Saturday, July 18.

“Social media has been instrumental in our extraordinary growth of the UNF brand,” said Jeramie McPeek, UpNext Promotions' social consultant, who brings 30 years of experience working in professional sports and entertainment. “We chose TikTok as a distribution platform for these events, as we believe that it offers us a tremendous opportunity to continue that growth and expand our audience globally.”

Fights Featured on TikTok LIVE:

• UNF Rising Stars Welterweight Champion Anthony Vardumian successfully defended his title with a head kick knockout of Axl Conrad
• Zhora Sahakyan improved to 5-0 with a submission win vs. “Bloodthirsty” Tyler Miller
• Maximillian Flynn defeated David Rivera to capture the vacant UNF Lightweight title
• Anthony “The Bully” Romero successfully defended the UNF Bantamweight Championship with a vicious knockout of Yuma Horiuchi in 25 seconds
• Jesse “Sui Generis” Strader earned a tapout victory over UFC veteran Francisco Rivera
• The “Syrian Prince” Hamzeh Trad scored a first-round TKO win over Shane Torre

About UpNext Promotions

Founded in 2022, UpNext Promotions has come out swinging to quickly become the premier regional MMA brand in California. With capacity crowds, high-quality production, thrilling entertainment, and consistently well-matched, fan-friendly fights, every UNF show has become a true staple of the regional fight scene. Follow @upnextfighting on TikTok and all major social media platforms for more on “The Future of the Fight Game.”

About The Schmo

Dave Schmulenson created “The Schmo” as a fresh perspective and alternative to what is occurring in sports media today. He is able to get the athlete’s point across by injecting humor with self-deprecation. This genre he calls ‘sports comedy,’ with an emphasis on sports first and comedy second. Dave wants the humanity of the athlete to come through, and he’s found humor to be an effective tool to draw out the personalities of the combat sports and professional athletes that he covers. Follow @theschmo312 on TikTok and all social platforms for more of his one-of-a-kind interviews.