ALEKSA BALAŠEVIĆ, Promoter of Megdan: Gladiators in Novi Sad

Aleksa Balašević might be young and have a famous surname, but he is not doing anything remotely similar to his father Đorđe and his sister Jovana’s art. This creative young man first became a wrestler, and later became widely known as the promoter of a hugely popular MMA event called Megdan.

Where did you get an idea to organize such event, considering that you had been a wrestler? Does this mean that you are also a fan of martial arts?

  • I wrestled for my country’s cadet / junior wrestling team, and since I am a fan of all sports, my wrestling career does not have any connection to Megdan per se. I have organized this event, first and foremost, for financial and marketing purposes, to be completely honest with you, and secondly, out of love towards gladiator sports. MMA, or as laymen call it freestyle fighting, is a sport that has been evolving at the speed of butterfly-like metamorphosis, to quote the iconic film Rollerball. The first gladiator sport becomes the most popular one!

Can you believe that you did all of this with your two hands? You were quoted once as saying that you found it hard to believe that you did it all.

  • I have created Megdan Group on my own. Megdan is a project that is sponsored by the Foreign Ministry and the City of Novi Sad. I did not create everything else by myself though, especially not only with my two hands, to be honest. I am backed by most of y family members; my mum, who is also a producer, a former athlete worthy of Olympics, and my long-standing love, is my PR manager, the host and the first lady of Megdan. Could you believe that two women are developing this typically male, gladiator project with me? Our director Damjan Kuba Ničić also contributed a lot to setting up Megdan Group. Heis a financial wizard that made our wishes possible. It gives me a great honour that Novi Sad now has Megdan, a ‘younger brother’ of Tambouritza Fest and EXIT. We are expanding into other towns in Serbia too, regardless of the fact that the ongoing negotiations to hold Megdan in Oma.

Megdan is one of the biggest sporting events in Serbia. How difficult was it to organize it considering its size?

  • Apart from Davis Cup, which does not take place in our country every year, Megdan is definitely the biggest and the most complete sporting event, to quote the Ministry. It was extremely difficult to organize it, especially the first ever Megdan since we were breaking the figurative ice and facing the terribly escalating costs that came out of nowhere. But I have to say that it took much less effort to organize the second Megdan because we went through trials and tribulations with the first Megdan. I use Napoleon’s business strategy where one worker can do several jobs better than two workers that are new to the job. Bearing this mind, with each new Megdan, we have fewer workers put more jobs which makes things easier for me because I really do have a dream team.

The popularity of martial arts is growing in the world, as is the popularity of other sports and going to the gym. Is there any fear that this kind of events could backfire, i.e. how do you deal with people who say that the events of this type promote violence instead of responsible use of martial arts in self-defence?

  • I have been battling with that all the time, but I am doing good. I have come to realize that Megdan is an event for everybody when I saw people of all ages, genders and professions in the audience. There is violence in every sport in a way – from intentional foul plays to physical altercations between competitors or trainers. The fact remains that this sport is extreme in a sense of its completeness and freestyle fighting with limited rules. But it is also just a sport like any other, and I strive to present it as such in my own country, as do the betting shops and TV stations which cooperate with us.

What are your further plans?

  • The plan is to invest in marketing and the brand as much as possible, and to hold Megdan in all towns in Serbia just like football matches or any other sporting events. Our press conference is scheduled for the beginning of 2018 when we are also going to announce the final location of Megdan 3.

For the first time in the history of Serbia and the region, Megdan, i.e. MMA and K1 fights, have found their way to betting shops?

Only two days before Megdan took place, I was very pleasantly surprised by establishing a cooperation with Meridian betting shops which have made a great move in their line of business by being the first to allow live betting on MMA and K1 fights. This another incentive for me to do my job even better, because every big sporting event has to cooperate with betting shops which, through their announcements, are making the event much bigger and more important. Our purpose is to make Megdan, first and foremost, an important event for our sporting community and our country, and then for martial arts and this region. I can describe Megdan Group as a train that embarked empty on a long voyage, and by stopping at each station, has managed to collect valuable cars along the way.

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