MMA Fighters receives P-1A visa and is signed to the UFC

MMA Fighters receives P-1A visa and is signed to the UFC

MMA Fighters receives P-1A visa and is signed to the UFC

We are glad to report yet another successful P-1 petition for MMA Factory - USA, which is an affiliate of MMA Factory France owned by Fernand Lopez. 

We effectively petitioned for a three-year approval for world class martial artist Alan Baudot’s P-1 status. Mr. Baudot is an internationally renowned martial artist, who was signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championships after receiving approval for his P-1 Visa. 

Managing Member of the firm, Sherrod Seward successfully presented the petition proving eligibility for the P-1A visa as a World Class Martial Artist to USCIS. He provided as many documents as possible for each of the criteria satisfied by Mr. Baudot. 

The Athlete

Mr. Baudot is a world class martial artist who has gained enormous regional and international respect in national and international championships. 

The Petitioner

Before being a reputable team, MMA FACTORY is a spirit and a passion. Since its launch, MMA FACTORY has evolved a lot and is today a benchmark in the Parisian sports world. More than combat sports, come and practice strengthening and cardio activities. In the club's arenas, the MMA FACTORY method teaches you to overcome pain and fatigue to surpass yourself. You have the choice between several disciplines: MMA, MUAY THAI, ENGLISH BOXING, WRESTLING, JJB GI-NO GI, and Fitness. With professional fighters MMA has set up adapted programs: Physical Preparation and Career Management.      

 

The P-1 Petition 

We demonstrated that MMA FACTORY, the petitioner would like to extend the P-1 status upon Mr. Alan Baudot, whom they consider to be an exceptionally-talented world class martial artist.

In the petition, we presented Mr. Baudot as the world-class athlete he is by revealing his participation in international fights. We were able to give details and competition itinerary for the athlete. We also confirmed that Mr. Baudot would be taking part in international athletic exhibitions with athletes befitting his global ranking and skill level.

To add weight to our case, we also revealed that the beneficiary’s skill level and rank was far beyond that of most American martial artists. Therefore, he would have to participate in international athletic exhibitions and competitions competing with other international athletes of his class and skill level.  

We informed the USCIS that highly ranked American fighters require other highly rated athletes to compete against. Competing against internationally renowned athletes would allow them to move up in global rankings.

International Rankings of Mr. Baudot

We provided evidence that the athlete is ranked internationally to demonstrate that the beneficiary has a reputation beyond a single country. We presented the following international accolades for the athlete:

  1. Mr. Baudot has been ranked #195 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world in Fight Matrix. Fight Matrix is an independent, comprehensive, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites.

  2. Mr. Baudot is currently ranked #145 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world in Tapology. In the regional ranking system, he is ranked #6 in Japan in the Light Heavyweight category. Tapology differs from other sources publishing MMA rankings because instead of reflecting the opinions of a single observer, the site automatically takes into account all of its members rankings.

We also showcased Mr. Baudot’s profiles in all the major martial artist databases and portals, including:

  1. Sherdog, the leading MMA site with 9.5 million visitors per month

  2. The Underground (mixedmartialarts.com), the world’s largest online community for mixed martial arts, since 1998,

  3. FightTime, a major Russian site for mixed martial arts.

Internationally-recognised Award 

We demonstrated that Mr. Baudot had significant accomplishments in the field of martial arts that make him celebrated in more than one country. We provided the following award as evidence in this regard:

Current HEAT General Rule Heavy (Indiscriminate) Class Champion

HEAT was launched by Nagoya's martial arts gym Shimura Dojo in February 2005 as a mixed martial arts illusion as a battleground for players from Nagoya. From Nagoya, the center of Japan, to mixed martial arts, kickboxing, Muay Thai, karate, women's martial arts, and professional wrestling, HEAT has been sending hot battles that are not bound by preconceived ideas to the world. Mr. Baudot has been competing in the HEAT Championships and is currently listed as the Current HEAT General Rule Heavy (Indiscriminate) Class Champion. 

Further the profiles we shared showcased Mr. Baudot’s highly impressive competition history of 6 wins, 2 losses and no draws. 

Media Coverage of the World Class Martial Artist

The firm was also able to demonstrate that the athlete was featured in publications of international repute. We provided the title, date, and author of the title. We submitted an abstract of the articles to give a preview of the contents of the articles.

The articles included in the petition include:

  • ESPN Digital Media mentions Mr. Baudot’s fight with Champion Dalcha, “Elvis Moyo: I advise you to run for your life”, KweséESPN, July 5, 2017;

  • ESPN Digital Media mentions Mr. Baudot’s fight with Champion Dalcha, “EFC 61 recap: Van Zyl, Dalcha defend their belts”, Shifaan Ryklief, July 7, 2017;

  • About page for ESPN Digital Media;

  • Readership statistics for ESPN Digital Media (125.6 Million Unique users monthly); 

  • Combat Press mentions Mr. Baudot in its article, “EFC 61 Results: Van Zyl, Dalcha Retain Titles with Finishes”, Rob Tatum, July 8, 2017;

  • Home page for Combat Press;

  • MMASucka.com article mentions about Mr. Baudot defending his HEAT Light Heavyweight Championship title against Da Un Jung in the article entitled, “Kazuyuki Fujita returns at HEAT 41”, Mike Skytte, December 6, 2017;

  • About page for MMASucka.com;

  • Bleacher Report article mentions Mr. Baudot, “MMA Fighter Hits Canvas Stiff as a Board After Getting KO'd with Huge Right Hand”, Nathan McCarter, July 8, 2017;

  • About page for Bleacher Report;

We provided ample evidence that Mr. Baudot meets at least three of the P-1 criteria and qualifies for the non-immigrant P-1 visa. We, therefore, successfully demonstrated that he is unambiguously qualified to be classified as a P-1 Martial Artist of extraordinary ability.

For more information on how we help support professional mixed martial arts athletes and coaches with O-1 and P-1 visas, please contact our offices at 310-209-8545.

Sherrod Seward