Combat Sports Media, LLC (CSM) was founded in 2007 by Sam Caplan as a one-stop shop for companies in the field of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) seeking outsource consulting services to help grow their business and expand the reach of their brand.
A family owned and operated business, the core services that CSM provides to MMA-themed businesses are (1) executive consulting and business development; (2) matchmaking/talent relations; (3) public relations/marketing; (4) web design & online video streaming; and (5) cage rentals/site promoter operations.
The company’s past and present clients include CBSSports.com, CBS, SHOWTIME Networks, M-1 Global, the Titan Fighting Championship, Matrix Fights, Fight Night in the Cage, Locked in the Cage, CollegeHumor.com, NameDrop.com, and FightMetric.com.
CSM has created a niche for itself in the field of MMA because it has been able to provide its clients with a unique blend of corporate business practices coupled with a strong endemic background in the sport of MMA.
Sam Caplan, President and CEO
A lifelong fan of combat sports, Caplan’s path to MMA was first paved through the ownership and sale of two separate fantasy sports websites, the Fantasy Football Insider (www.ffinsider.com) and Xpert Sports Software (www.XpertSports.com). In 1998, at the age of 20, Caplan sold Insider Sports Inc. (the parent company of the Fantasy Football Insider) to Fantasy Football Weekly. In addition to acquiring his company, Fantasy Football Weekly also signed Caplan to an employment contract so that he could lead the company as its Chief Interactive Officer in its transition from a print company to a web-based play known as Fanball.com.
Caplan used some of the capital accumulated from the sale of the Fantasy Football Insider to study martial arts as an active participant. After three years of study in Shaolin Long Fist Kung Fu at the White Tiger Academy under Master Jeon Jeong Hoon, Caplan elected to transition to mixed martial arts in 2004 under the tutelage of Brad Daddis at Daddis Fight Camps in Philadelphia. He would later go on to compete in multiple amateur mixed martial arts and Muay Thai contests.
At the urging of many of his training partners, Caplan decided to utilize his writing expertise that was developed during his time in the fantasy sports industry to cover the sport of MMA. Soon after starting his own website, FiveOuncesOfPain.com, Caplan was also hired separately as a columnist by CBSSports.com and FIGHT! Magazine. In 2007, he joined SHOWTIME Networks as a researcher and technical consultant and was a part of the CBS production team that presided over the first-ever MMA event broadcast live on network television.
In 2009, Caplan transitioned from MMA journalism into talent relations. After matchmaking just two events for M-1 Global’s U.S. division, he was hired by the Bellator Fighting Championships as a matchmaker. In January of 2011, the company promoted him to the position of Vice President of Talent Relations. He is a licensed matchmaker in the states of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut, and California.
Andria Caplan, Vice President of Talent Relations:
Andria Caplan holds the unique distinction of being one of the only licensed Mixed Martial Arts matchmakers in the United States who is also an active fighter. Her dual-role as both a full-time fighter and matchmaker allows her to easily relate and communicate with fighters, managers, and trainers.
Currently training full-time out of Daddis Fight Camps under renowned trainer Brad Daddis, Andria is both a former WKA Amateur Muay Thai tournament champion as well as a multi-time Grappler’s Quest multi-time Grappler’s Quest champion. Holding the rank of blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Caplan is also 3-1 as an amateur mixed martial arts competitor. Having won her last three fights, she is currently ranked as the 13th best female amateur in the World in the 145-plus pound division, according to Non Stop Women’s MMA.
Caplan is a licensed matchmaker in the state of Pennsylvania and the matchmaker of record for the Philadelphia-based Matrix Fights as well as the Lancaster-based Fight Night in the Cage promotions. Prior to serving as a primary matchmaker of record, Caplan served for a full year as an apprentice matchmaker under the tutelage of her husband, Sam Caplan, the current Bellator Fighting Championships Vice President of Talent Relations.
Her experience as a matchmaker and fighter has allowed her to build an eclectic network of contacts that extends well beyond the Tri-State region.
