Right As Rhett

Rhett Butler: From Combat Sports To Creative Economy In Prince George’s County

Muhammad Ali said: “Rumble, young man, rumble!”

A young man named Rhett Butler took that very seriously.

Brand Manager, Combat Sports Insider, Concept Architect, Creative Economy Strategist, Educator, BWAA Journalist, and Prince George’s County resident, Rhett Butler has been a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur for the majority of his career.

Rhett is the current Chief Branding Strategist of R. Butler & Associates consulting + management where he guides small to medium sized business’ branding and communications strategy in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. His list of clients have included: Strive 2 Tri, Inc., Upper Cuts, LLC, The J Sharpe Agency, Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council and more.

As a journalist, Rhett is an Auxiliary member of the Boxing Writer’s Association of America and currently acts as the lead combat sports writer (Boxing, MMA and Bodybuilding), producer, and host with The Shadow League, a digital sports property owned by media mogul, Keith Clinkscales. He has also been published in Money Magazine, reported for TIME Magazine and been a freelance writer for UFC.com, MaximumFighting.com, UFC 360 Magazine, Fight Magazine, MMAPayout.com and Heavy.com.

Rhett is the former Director of Communications for the D.C. Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (DC Entertainment Office). He was instrumental in the creation of 202Creates, a robust and diverse showcase of the District’s creative economy.

Starting his professional sports career in the eye of the ever-growing mixed martial arts storm and boxing industry, for over 10 years, Rhett has been a part of the world’s largest stages for the combat sports. Rhett possesses unique knowledge and gained the experience that prepared him for the growth of the once burgeoning MMA and ever-evolving boxing industry.

Butler with Executive Director of Gateway Arts District Pat Thornton.

In May 2006, Butler began a rewarding position with Zuffa, LLC the former parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championships brand as a Staff Coordinator in the Fighter Relations Department. Within 5 years, Rhett had become an integral part of the biggest MMA shows on pay-per-view and cable television specifically directing the athletic talent and event athletic logistics for domestic and international fighting events.

As the UFC expanded and began purchasing its largest competitors, Rhett was given the opportunity to lead the transition of newly purchased Strikeforce, which was formerly the UFC’s largest competitor and worked with Showtime Sports. In addition, Rhett trained new teams in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brazil on how to facilitate combat sporting events and athletes as the UFC opened offices globally.

Eventually, Butler created Fight Services, a full-service combat sports event services brand, Rhett was the driving force for the entire pre-fight administration and event week logistics for major combat sports promoters. Rhett coordinated all logistics for most of the major boxing, MMA and kickboxing organizations. Past clients include: World Series of Fighting (now the Professional Fighter’s League), K2 Promotions (Gennady “GGG” Golovkin), Showtime Championship Boxing, Mixed Striking Challenge, and Titan FC (UFC Fight Pass) to name a few.

Rhett also was one of the founding members of SHINE Fight Promotions, the first-ever African American owned MMA promotion to be distributed through pay-per-view (both online and broadcast). The South Florida based company produced four shows with UFC and Pride veterans and developed new stars, leaving a legacy of entrepreneurship in the face of adversity.

The native of New York City, former Las Vegas resident and Howard University graduate currently lives between Prince Georges County, MD. He enjoys aiding the creative economy of Prince George’s County as a member of the Creative Edge Collaborative and Gateway Media Arts Lab. He is a resident of the Gateway Arts District, and curator of annual The Future of Film & Media Conference at the University of Maryland at College Park.