Under the guidance of James Krause, an MMA powerhouse has gradually been established in Kansas City, as Glory MMA & Fitness evolved from a passion project into one of the top gyms supplying talent for professional mixed martial arts contests around the world.
Krause began his professional MMA journey in 2007 when success in mixed martial arts was stigmatized with training at the most prominent and popular gyms. And despite training at various locations during the start of his career, Krause always knew he would prove the doubters wrong and give local fighters the hope of reaching the UFC by training locally.
Krause fought for numerous promotions; he fought on two seasons of the UFC’s reality show (The Ultimate Fighter) and eventually was signed to the UFC. He utilized his newfound worth to begin Grindhouse MMA and breed talent from Kansas City.
Kansas City Fighting Alliance (Fighting Alliance Championship)
In 2012, MMA witnessed the birth of Kansas City Fighting Alliance, a brand-new promotion started by Krause and his partners that would host regional fights and give Kansas City fighters a home to display their talent and get recognized. In a small auditorium, KCFA could barely squeeze 1,000 fans under its roof, but these events would sell every ticket, every time, guaranteed.
Speaking to UFC.com, Krause discussed the dedication and hard work he underwent: “Those early days with KCFA were kind of wild. At the time, I was doing everything from sponsorship to athlete relations to providing fighters to setting up the cage and tearing it down.”
And we shouldn’t forget that Krause was equally busy as an active fighter whilst juggling his business ventures. Grindhouse eventually rebranded into Glory MMA & Fitness, which is when Krause felt his true calling – coaching. At this moment, Krause realizes that growing new fighters in Kansas City altered from a goal into a reality.
“Everyone was having to move to the coasts for the big hugs to train,” Krause said. “If you really wanted to make it, that was what you had to do. Thanks to what we’ve accomplished over the years, that’s just not the case anymore.”
Following several years of consistent success, KCFA transitioned into what’s now known as FAC (Fighting Alliance Championship). A larger venue combined with a newfound recognition had cemented MMA in Kansas City as a main player. Although the work wasn’t over, Krause had built a credible promotion that was only heading in one direction, up.
“FAC is the product of KCFA, which turned into something bigger than KC. Although a lot of guys are from KC, they go on to bigger and better things,” Krause said. “We partner with the arena, and it’s the closest thing to the UFC you’re going to get.”
Alongside the UFC, Invicta, ONE FC, Bellator, LFA, and other dominant promotions in MMA, FAC can be found in sportsbooks, another piece of evidence that Krause and company have created something special.
Caesars sportsbook has great promo codes for Kansas, the idealistic approach for those looking to wager on MMA and with the talent-stacked cards of FAC and the UFC to choose from, you’ll never run short on finding action.
These stacked FAC cards now occur at Cable Dahmer Arena, a venue with just under 8,000 fans. In addition, due to its popularity, the promotion inked a deal with UFC FIGHT PASS, and their events are streamed to the world through this service.
Furthermore, UFC President Dana White selected FAC for his Dana White: Looking For A Fight series earlier this year. It was a one-off episode where Dana and the popular social media giants, The Nelk Boys, teamed up to sign a fighter exclusively to the Nelk Boys brand.
“LFAF is huge. Anytime the UFC gives you the nod to showcase is important. It means that FAC is worthy, and it’s not saying anything bad about other promotions, but anytime they dedicate time and resources to find talent, that’s great,” Krause said. “The Nelk Boys have an insane following, and they are getting millions of views per video. It’s ridiculous and awesome.”
Krause understands the importance of marketing and the cross-promotion between the UFC, the Nelk Boys, and the FAC.
“It’s really cool anytime you can get two large audiences together that aren’t necessarily in the same lane, and it’s a great collaboration. It’s great to have them be a part of this, and they have some stuff in store for the actual fight night. We are grateful for UFC and Nelk Boys.”
