How do I gain my spot in MMA media, being a non-native English speaker?

Following the example of The Score’s own James Lynch, I’ll try and list a few points you should follow if you want to pursue a career (kind of) in the ferocious world of MMA journalism.

James already did a great job with his video, so what I’m going to do is recapping his advice from a non-native English speaker/writer point of view.

Read English outlets

If you want to learn how to write correctly in English, you have to learn how to read first. You may have already studied English at school, just like myself, but you have to learn how to write in a “journalistic” form, technical terms, idioms, and so on.

So, read. Read tons of someone else’s articles. See how they write, “steal” from them. And when I say “steal” I’m not meaning plagiarize, of course. Learn new words and re-use those in your work.

Do not translate

One of the most common mistakes non-English writers tend to do is writing in their native language and translate it later.

Wrong!

You have to start thinking in English. Writing in your own language and then translate that, it’s just a waste of time. Plus some words or idioms can’t be literally translated in other languages.

When I decide to write a story, a piece of news, an article I start to picture it in my mind. Which words I’m going to use, how to put a sentence and so on. It’s very helpful. The writing will be easier when you’ll start it.

Choose a new topic/field

Everyone would like to cover the UFC or to interview Conor McGregor, but you have to understand that you’re a rookie. Why someone should read your work and not someone’s more experienced and surely better at it?

The trick is to try and find something no one has covered yet, or at least a small pool of journalists/bloggers already cover.

I’ve started covering the Italian MMA scene, both regional and worldwide (Italians fighters signed with top promotions). Some colleagues did that on Italian websites, but none of them were covering it for American/English websites.

I’ve started with the defunct MMA-Today News with a team of Italian colleagues and friends. Honestly, it was a huge blessing since they gave us a whole new section of the site to cover every single Italian regional event and make ourselves a name since we were the first ones that tried and put Italy on the MMA world map.

Build your network

The smartest thing you could do as an up-and-coming journalist is to start making new friends in this small yet savage world we use to call mixed martial arts. Find people that already cover this sport, be nice to them and always respectful. They will help you with your work, giving advice and introduce yourself to other people. That’s how you get better, more important jobs.

Don’t snub less-known fighters

As before-mentioned, everyone wants to interview Conor McGregor, Jon Jones or Georges St-Pierre, but that’s not how you’ll climb the MMA media ladder.

The greatest thing you could do is start with your regional scene. Fighters will be happy to have an international spot to make himself a name outside their country.

Plus, you’ll never know if that fighter will be a world champion one day in the future. If you knew him when he was an up-and-comer, you’ll always have privileged access to him.

Quick evergreen tips

Never, ever make enemies, neither insiders/colleagues nor fighters.

Ask for feedback from your editors or other colleagues.

Don’t over-spam your work. If it’s good, it will be shared.

Use your real name and a real photo of your self on social media. No one will trust you as a legit journalist if you use a fake name/nickname or a picture of your favorite fighter.

Use Grammarly! It’s a blessing for non-English writers.

For everything else go check James’ video above.