First Round Management

Sports Management Servicesfirstroundmanagement.com

First Round Management is a privately held, Miami-based athlete management agency representing professional fighters and athletes across MMA, football, soccer, boxing, wrestling, and basketball, with a combat-sports-anchored roster led by UFC champions and ranked contenders.

Company typePrivate
Founded2008
HeadquartersMiami, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What First Round Management does

First Round Management (FRM) is a privately held, Miami-based athlete management agency founded in 2008 that represents professional athletes across multiple sports, with its core strength in combat sports. The company's service portfolio spans MMA representation (UFC, PFL, Regional MMA), football (NFL, UFL, NIL), soccer, boxing (including the Dirty Boxing Championship and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship), wrestling (WWE, AEW, TNA, RAF), and basketball. Beyond contract negotiation and endorsement work, FRM explicitly emphasizes post-career security planning and positions itself as a 'family oriented' management firm, a differentiator it uses to attract and retain clients in a relationship-driven business.

The company's client roster is anchored by high-profile UFC fighters including Ilia Topuria, Derrick Lewis, Bryce Mitchell, Bia Mesquita, and Alice Ardelean, alongside other combat-sports figures such as Mike Perry and Nate Diaz, and has expanded into entertainment representation with reggaeton icon and soccer investor Nicky Jam. Revenue is generated through standard athlete management commissions on contracts, endorsements, and career services; pricing is negotiated individually and is not publicly disclosed. FRM is founder-led by Malki Kawa (Founder, CEO & President) and Mike Perry (Founder), with no disclosed institutional investment or parent company, and a headcount in the 11–50 range.

In 2024 FRM extended its offering beyond pure representation by launching the Dirty Boxing Championship event brand (July 2024) and a dedicated Soccer Division (October 2024), and signed Nicky Jam in March 2025, signaling a pivot toward owned event IP, multi-sport diversification, and entertainment-crossover clientele. Marketing is driven by community-led channels including The Agency Podcast, an active blog, and organic social presence on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, consistent with its referral- and reputation-based client acquisition model.

First Round Management firmographics

Firmographics

Name: First Round Management
Legal name: First Round Management
Website: https://firstroundmanagement.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2008
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: First Round Management is a privately held, Miami-based athlete management agency representing professional fighters and athletes across MMA, football, soccer, boxing, wrestling, and basketball, with a combat-sports-anchored roster led by UFC champions and ranked contenders.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

First Round Management industry classification

Industry

Product category: Sports Management Services
NAICS: Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)
SIC: Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
akta.pro primary industry: Mixed-Discipline/Hybrid Combat Promotions (Multi-sport cards) (MPAKAHAF)
akta.pro secondary industry: Bare-Knuckle & Specialty Striking Promotions (MPAKAHAH)

Keywords

Athlete management services
Sports talent representation
MMA fighter representation
Professional athlete management
Sports career management

Where First Round Management is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Miami
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Markets served

First Round Management business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Athlete Management Services: FRM generates revenue through management services provided to professional athletes. As a sports management agency, the company likely earns commissions or fees based on contract negotiations, endorsements, and career management for athletes in MMA, boxing, wrestling, football, and soccer.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

First Round Management product offering

Product offering

Core offering

First Round Management is a family-oriented athlete management firm that provides career management and representation services for professional athletes across multiple sports disciplines, including MMA (UFC, PFL), Football (NFL, UFL, NIL), Soccer, Boxing, Wrestling (WWE, AEW), and Basketball. Services span contract negotiations, endorsement deals, post-career security planning, and community outreach support, supplemented by branded media initiatives such as The Agency Podcast and the Dirty Boxing Championship event.

Product overview

First Round Management is a family-oriented sports management company offering comprehensive career management services for professional athletes across multiple sports disciplines. The core offering consists of athlete representation services spanning MMA (UFC, PFL, Regional MMA), Football (NFL, UFL, NIL), Soccer, Boxing (Dirty Boxing Championship, Bare Knuckle, Boxing), Wrestling (WWE, AEW, TNA, RAF), and Basketball. The company provides career management support including post-career security planning. Additionally, FRM operates branded media initiatives including The Agency Podcast and the Dirty Boxing Championship event brand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Career Management Services
MMA Representation Athlete representation services for mixed martial arts fighters competing in UFC, PFL, and Regional MMA organizations.
Football Representation Athlete representation services for American football players, covering NFL, UFL, and NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) divisions.
Soccer Division Soccer athlete representation services launched in October 2024, expanding FRM's sports portfolio into international soccer.
Boxing Representation Boxing athlete representation services covering Dirty Boxing Championship, Bare Knuckle boxing, and traditional Boxing disciplines.
Wrestling Representation Professional wrestling athlete representation covering WWE, AEW, TNA, and RAF organizations.
Basketball Representation Basketball athlete representation services for professional basketball players.
Dirty Boxing Championship A boxing championship event brand created and presented by FRM, featuring Mike Perry as presenter, launched in July 2024.
The Agency Podcast FRM's podcast platform featuring discussions about sports management, athlete careers, and industry news, available on YouTube.

Companies that use First Round Management

Customer profile

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

First Round Management technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

First Round Management partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

First Round Management competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

WME Sports (Endeavor): Global sports and entertainment representation arm of Endeavor, with deep UFC ties via Endeavor ownership. Comparable to FRM as a competitor for elite combat sports clients, though backed by far more capital and league/promotion vertical integration.
Octagon: IPG-owned global sports marketing and athlete management agency serving Olympic athletes and combat sports clients. Compares to FRM through athlete representation services at scale, though with much broader marketing and event capabilities.
CAA Sports (Creative Artists Agency): One of the largest global talent and sports agencies with a deep athlete representation division. Comparable to FRM as a potential competitor in athlete management but operates at much greater scale and breadth across entertainment and sports.

Direct peers

Athletes First: Large independent NFL player agency with multi-sport expansion (NBA, MLB). Comparable to FRM because both are private, founder-led athlete management businesses competing for elite professional athletes and emphasizing full-service career management.
Excel Sports Management: Multi-sport athlete management agency representing athletes across MLB, NBA, NFL, PGA, and Olympic sports. Comparable to FRM because both run horizontal multi-sport representation models for elite professionals.
Paradigm Sports Management: Boutique multi-sport management agency with deep combat sports roots (MMA, boxing, wrestling). Compares to FRM because both represent fighters across multiple combat disciplines and compete for the same elite UFC/PFL client pool.
Roc Nation Sports: Jay-Z-backed athlete management and sports marketing arm representing elite clients across multiple sports. Compares to FRM because both pursue high-profile athlete representation with content/media brand extensions (Roc Nation's artists platform parallels FRM's podcast and Dirty Boxing).
VaynerSports: Boutique athlete management and sports marketing agency representing NFL, NBA, MLB and combat sports athletes. Comparable to FRM as a similarly-sized private agency competing for tier-1 athlete representation mandates with strong social and content marketing orientation.
Dominance MMA Management: Leading MMA athlete management agency led by Ali Abdelaziz, managing top UFC champions and contenders. Direct competitor to FRM in the combat sports representation market, with similar high-profile UFC client rosters.

Emerging players

Range Media Partners: Newer athlete and entertainment management firm growing rapidly across sports and entertainment verticals. Comparable to FRM as a private, founder-led agency pursuing the same high-profile athlete and entertainment crossover client pool.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

First Round Management financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

First Round Management leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

First Round Management funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

First Round Management M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Round Management

What does First Round Management do?

Is First Round Management a public or private company?

First Round Management is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was First Round Management founded?

First Round Management was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is First Round Management based?

First Round Management is headquartered in Miami, United States, in the North America region.

How does First Round Management make money?

One revenue line is on record: athlete Management Services.

Who are First Round Management's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are WME Sports (Endeavor), Octagon and CAA Sports (Creative Artists Agency). Direct peers are Athletes First, Excel Sports Management, Paradigm Sports Management, Roc Nation Sports, VaynerSports and Dominance MMA Management. Range Media Partners is listed as an emerging player.

Does First Round Management have an API?

No public API is recorded for First Round Management.

What industry is First Round Management in?

First Round Management's product category is Sports Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAKAHAF, Mixed-Discipline/Hybrid Combat Promotions (Multi-sport cards), with a secondary code of MPAKAHAH, Bare-Knuckle & Specialty Striking Promotions. Its NAICS code is 7114 and its SIC code is 7990.