Nick Harmeier is a 29-year-old man with some big goals in mind and if his track record is any indication, he seems to be well on his way to making himself a household name around the Mid-South, if not further. Harmeier is the founder of V3 Fights, a mixed martial arts (MMA) brand that is based in Memphis and puts on events around the Mid-South.

While many people around the Mid-South may not know Harmeier by name, a few might know his writing, as he was the marketing director of Quentin “Rampage” Jackson before he became a member of the UFC brand of MMA. He wrote press releases for Rampage, as well as booking  him to fight.

Harmeier and Rampage actually go way back. They met in their high school days when both were involved with their school wrestling teams: Harmeier, at Craigmont, and Rampage, at Raliegh-Egypt. Both also participated in an amateur wrestling squad for the Jr. Olympics. Their friendship continued on throughout Harmeier’s college years.

Harmeier has very strong roots with MMA in the Mid-South. From the beginning, he was involved with the process of legalizing MMA in Tennessee. This eventually led to the Forum hosting a nationally recognized pay-per-view UFC fight in December of last year.

Last year, Harmeier was working promotions and marketing for another local MMA brand. He eventually got fed up with the direction the company was going. It was then he decided to start V3.

V3’s first event was last fall at the Delta Fair in DeSoto County. Soon after, three other events were held at Newby’s on Highland. And this June, V3 will be holding its highest profile event yet in the FedExForum Grand Lobby. This event will be making history for V3, as it will boast three title matches. Later in the year, V3 will be putting on shows at the Delta Fair and the Mid-South Fair, as well as hoping to put on a few more fights in the Grand Lobby of the Forum before basketball season tips off.

Harmeier knows that there is potential to become big time and eventually hold an event inside the bowl of the Forum, as MMA is definitely an up and coming sport that is gaining more and more popularity.

There are many amateur MMA brands popping up around the country, but Harmeier feels he knows how to keep his brand above the rest. When asked what sets V3 apart from the other MMA brands, Harmeier responded, “Staying true to the brand, being true to MMA.” In his words, he is “just a fan” of MMA. He says that helps because he knows what the people want and he will do what it takes to deliver a product that creates buzz and gets people to come back time after time. This includes not cutting corners and spending a little extra money on production. He is always looking at the little things and what he can do to make his overall product better.

Obviously Harmeier hopes to eventually sell out the FedExForum main arena, but more important to him, would be to become a “Triple-A” to the UFC, becoming sort of a feeder brand to the big time.

But, for now Harmeier is focused on the immediate future and next month’s fight in the FedExForum Grand Lobby.

By Ben Hogan, Photo by Michael Cardwell.