UCLA alumnus heads up U of MMA, promoting amateur mixed martial arts fighters
Courtesy of U of MMA
UCLA alumnus Turi Altavilla (right) started the U of MMA in 2010 to appeal to amateur mixed martial arts fighters in Southern California.
By Joseph Wilhelm
May 30, 2012 1:45 a.m.
The terrifying reality of college life is that it must come to an end. At some point, all students leave the comfort and security of their school; either victorious, degree in hand, or defeated, without any documented validation of their competence. Either way, both paths are filled with uncertainty.
For Turi Altavilla, who graduated from UCLA in 1997 as an English student, the post-college world was initially a rough and unstable landscape.
Four years of studying Dante, Chaucer and Shakespeare were followed by two spent bouncing between visual effects and entertainment companies. Finally, in 1999, Altavilla was introduced to his true calling.
“I just kind of got into (mixed martial arts) by luck. (The company I was working with) was partly producing an MMA show in the San Jacinto desert in 1999,” Altavilla said. “I didn’t know much about MMA, I just knew the general stuff.”
Following an eleven-year career in which he has worked for international MMA promotions and produced several major MMA television shows, Altavilla decided to try running his own business.
The U of MMA, a Los Angeles-based promotion that hosts amateur fighters from the greater Southern California area, was founded by Altavilla in 2010 to provide coverage for an outlet of the sport that had yet to be developed.
“I felt that I had to find the niche and the niche was with amateur fighters,” Altavilla said. “I want fighters looking back on their time with our organization like they would if they were a collegiate athlete.”
But don’t let the word “amateur” fool you.
Altavilla expects his fighters to act as professionals. In addition to fight-related requirements such as making weight, U of MMA fighters are asked to make post-fight addresses in large venues such as L.A. Live’s Club Nokia.
“Time after time I’ve had fighters say, “˜I’ve never had to give a speech in front of a crowd,'” Altavilla said. “But these are the things that they need to do if they are serious about making their career as a fighter.”
Thus far, his experiment has worked. Normally soft-spoken, Altavilla glows when asked about his tight-knit support structure.
An integral part of this team is matchmaker Jay Tan, who has worked with Altavilla since 2007 and functions as the director of U of MMA events. When asked to describe their rapport, Tan chuckled and said, “If there were a more egalitarian partnership that came to mind besides the Lone Ranger and Tonto or Batman and Robin I would go with that.”
In addition to Tan, Altavilla’s sister, Pia Altavilla, is a physician by day and the U of MMA’s Jill-of-all-trades by night.
Pia Altavilla has performed jobs ranging from ticket sales to fashion design, even considering moonlighting as a ring-side doctor.
However, in spite of Pia Altavilla’s enthusiasm for MMA, the sport occasionally conflicts with her medical sensibilities.
“I have a hard time watching it sometimes because I’m a physician and I think about all of the things that could go badly,” she said.
Indeed, the venture is a risk, not just for the fighters but for Turi Altavilla as well, who is now playing with his own money and resources.
But from the fighters to their promoter, it’s a risk taken in pursuit of a dream.
“I had to be prepared to fail. Once I accepted that, I felt calm, that I could approach this better,” Altavilla said.
