The Motown of Combat Sports: JT Tilley’s Evolution from Showbiz to Extreme Sports Legend
What do the influential world of Motown, MMA fight clubs, and professional slap fighting have in common? The answer is humbly residing in a small town in the middle U.S. JT Tilley is a man who fuses showbiz theatrics with the intensity of combat sports, emerging as the creative force behind some of today’s most widely viewed and highly unique extreme sports.
From his early days in Branson, Missouri writing skits and doing live performances, to founding professional slap-fighting and inventing a whole host of new sports, JT’s path is one that follows many twists and turns. His story is every bit as bold and audacious as the sports he creates. Here it is.
From On-Stage to In The Ring
JT’s early days in life were not devoted to soccer fields or basketball courts. Instead, at the tender age of 8, he began what would end up being a decades long career in live performances and entertaining. The passions he had cultivated in the theatre halls of his youth carried him through his formative years and onto college, where he attended film school.
By the time he settled in Branson, Missouri, Tilley was writing comedy for Yakov Smirnoff, singing live shows, and sinking his teeth in what is widely considered “The Entertainment Capital of the World.”
Sight and Sound Theatre in Branson, MO (via CDI)
But, despite his success in the industry, there was a part of JT that longed for the adrenaline-fueled world of combat sports. Childhood passions for wrestling and MMA tugged at him, and eventually he made the transition from the theatre to the mat.
Branson Fight Club: Building an MMA Empire
Tilley started small, launching a small MMA fight club out of his garage, which he aptly named Branson Fight Club (BFC). What started out as a modest gathering of local fighters quickly grew into a bubbling hotbed for MMA talent, some guys even making it to the UFC. This grassroots effort allowed JT to experiment with not just the art of coaching but also the ins and outs of promoting fight events and dealing with state commissioners. Organizing these MMA events was integral to crafting the entrepreneurial toolkit that would serve him down the road.
Tilley (back) with BFC team in their early days (c/o Tilley)
But fate, as it often does, intervened. After several years solely focused on Branson Fight Club, JT received an invitation he couldn’t pass up. The Platters, an iconic vocal group that became popular in the 1950’s, approached JT after one his performances in the late 90’s and collected his phone number. Now, some 15 years later in 2012, they were reaching out to inform him that their lead singer had passed away and they wanted to bring him on as a vocalist. While joining The Platters would mean pulling back on his MMA projects, JT accepted the offer and would go on to tour the world with the group.
Tilley (left) with fellow members of The Platters (c/o Tilley)
Strippers Slapping Strippers
It was while JT was on tour with The Platters that he stumbled across what would later become his introduction to sports invention. After a tour stop, somewhere deep off in the southern US, the group of vocalists found themselves in a divey strip club. Much to their surprise, there wasn’t any dancing going on. Instead, the strippers were up on stage, repeatedly slapping one another for cash as the crowd cheered and made side bets.
“What the hell is this?” JT chuckled to himself as he continued to observe.
He couldn’t believe his eyes. While undeniably dangerous and unrefined, the people watching were going bananas. He immediately recognized the entertainment potential in what was taking place. The gears began to churn on a larger vision, and JT would eventually quit The Platters to coach MMA at BFC and formalize slap fighting into a recognized sport.
The Original Pro Slap Fighting League
Back in Branson, he refined the concept, working to transform what he saw at the strip clubs into organized events with weight classes, rules, and hopefully even state approvals. By 2017, JT launched SlapFIGHT Championship (SFC), the first professional slap fighting league, and produced his first event, SlapFIGHT 1. Viral success came pretty much immediately. Viewers were captivated by the raw, underground appeal of SFC events, many describing them as seeming “dangerous, possibly even illegal.”
SlapFIGHT Championship's best KO's of 2024 (via Youtube)
But they weren’t illegal at all. Unlike the viral free-for-alls of the past, SFC was carefully thought out. JT was still promoting MMA events and had a promoters’ license to protect, so he took the time to formalize the sport and acquire insurance. The rules and protocols he implemented into his slap fighting events, such as drug testing and an on-site medical staff reflect his understanding that the highest priority is the safety of the slappers.
JT continued to produce SFC events, releasing the shows on Youtube, posting viral clips to socials, and landing various prime-time international TV deals. The buzz eventually caught the attention of some major players, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Logan Paul.
In 2022, the pair approached JT to collaborate on a “U.S. vs. Russia” slap-fighting event to be held while scores were tabulated at the Arnold Strongman Classic in Ohio. The idea was for the best Russian slappers, most of whom were actually from an outlawed Polish slap fighting league called “Punch Down,” to take on Tilley’s best slappers from SlapFIGHT Championship.
Unfortunately, the partnership dissolved when JT insisted on steroid testing for all fighters, which the event organizers firmly rejected. JT had built his league on legitimacy and fighter safety, which in turn attracted the best slappers. There was no chance he was going to send Frank the Tank or Wolverine, two of his champions, up against some ‘roided out Polish behemoth loaded up on adrenaline. End of conversation.
"Frank the Tank" Holland with his SFC championship belt (via News Tribune)
Anyways, Schwarzenegger and Paul proceeded to throw the event without JT, ripping off several elements of SFC’s branding like their name, logo and jersey designs. Initially this infuriated JT, but after their league failed to gain any traction in the US, he realized their attempt to dupe him may have actually worked in his favor after all was said and done.
Toe-to-Toe with Dana White, the UFC, and Power Slap
Slap fighting’s growing popularity online eventually led Dana White, highly popular CEO of the UFC, to raise an eyebrow. Late in 2022, White contacted JT, applauding him for what he was building. After some schmoozing, it became clear that Dana’s intent was to purchase SFC from JT outright in preparation for launching his own slap-fighting league, Power Slap. Despite their intimidation efforts Tilley stood firm on his values, prioritizing his legacy as the original creator of professional slap fighting more than the UFC's money or prowess.
In January of 2023 Power Slap went on to hold its first event, which was reported as a major flop by most who saw it. After hearing of the expensive yet lackluster production, JT figured he would be hearing from them again. He was not wrong.
Shortly after their first event, Dana White and his team of execs invited JT to Las Vegas to work up a consulting agreement at the UFC headquarters. JT recognized this as an opportunity to influence the sport on a larger scale and agreed to meet. After some negotiations, he signed a contract to consult for Power Slap on the condition that he was able to continue operating his own league, ensuring his legacy and creative autonomy.
In his new role, JT didn't just bring his expertise, he also brought along some of his champions from SlapFIGHT Championship, who were already seasoned practitioners of the sport. They served as coaches, demonstrating proper techniques to the new slappers on the Power Slap roster, ensuring they understood the mechanics of slapping and being slapped.
JT's other main contributions included efforts to create safer rules and procedures and producing an "Ultimate Fighter" style TV show which aired on TBS for one season. Despite his efforts, the relationship was rife with creative differences and tensions. As a result, JT opted not to renew his Power Slap contract, instead refocusing on the loyal fanbase he was building with SFC and looking ahead to testing other new sports.
Developing CarJitsu and Pro League Network
Around the same time that JT began working with Power Slap, he was contacted by two New York based sports agents, Bill Yucatonis and Mike Salvaris. Initially, they worked together to popularize JT's SlapFIGHT Championship league and develop a new sport called CarJitsu, where competitors wrestle each other within the confines of a small sedan.
CarJistu 12 Highlights (via Youtube)
As their working relationship developed, they began to recognize a synergy between Bill and Mike’s business expertise and JT's creative passion. Tilley had already been making strides in diversifying the world of combat and extreme sports, and the platform that Bill and Mike offered gave him the backend support he needed to fully submerge himself in his creative process.
The trio went on to officially join forces in 2022, Bill and Mike registering Pro League Network in New York. Meanwhile in Branson, JT broke ground on a new production headquarters, PLN Studios, a place he would later dub "The Motown of Combat Sports." Pro League Network is an innovative organization, with a vision targeted at licensing and producing bettable niche sports. Their business model was designed to capitalize on the expanding market of sports bettors who were looking for more to bet on–something engaging and different.
Here’s how it works:
1.) Ideation Stage: JT conceives a new sport (or stumbles upon an idea in the wild, like slap fighting).
2.) Testing: Tilley’s team, BFC Extreme, runs trial matches to iron out rules and safety concerns.
3.) Production & Distribution: Once polished, they figure out the best way to film/produce events for distribution via PLN’s global network.
The separate project phases guarantee a constant flow of fresh, outlandish content, perfectly engineered for online engagement and virality. Between JT's far-reaching imagination and PLN's commitment to managing monetization and wagering approvals, the group established an efficient process, or as JT calls it "an assembly line," that opened up an entirely new sector in sports entertainment.
Pro League Network would become a launching pad not just for CarJitsu, which has already featured guests such as Kai Cenat, but a range of other niche sports as well. With hot new sports like Coffin Wars, where participants try to grapple their way out of a coffin, to Ultimate Tire Wrestling, where fighters wrestle each other into the center of a large tire for points, PLN has championed a process to test, produce and distribute extreme sports on a scale like never before.
What's Next at Pro League Network?
Combat sports enthusiasts and plain old sports fans alike should keep their eyes on Pro League Network and PLN Studios. With new wild concepts in development and JT’s knack for viral success, there’s no telling what new sport will capture the spotlight next.
If you’re looking to explore JT Tilley’s sports yourself, check out SlapFIGHT Championship via their Youtube channel or explore the full catalog of PLN’s latest fringe sports on their website for a front-row seat.
A Legacy in Sports Entertainment
JT Tilley made a bold choice when he left the glitz and comfortability of show business for the rough and tough ecosystem of underground combat sports. His legacy is one of reinvention and reiteration, where imagination meets reality, and where niche sports become global phenomena. Combat sports purists may scoff, but there’s no denying it—JT Tilley is not just spitting in the wind. He’s at the wheel of a large-scale movement in sports consumption.
Now, one might ask, what solidifies a man as a visionary? Is it spotting potential early on where no one else does? Is it the adaptability to blend seemingly opposite worlds like theatre and fighting? Perhaps it’s a superior resilience, like surviving showdowns with industry titans such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Logan Paul and Dana White.
We think it’s all of the above.
Cheers friends!
