Local Professional Opens Saratoga-Based Fight Promotion

Donald Walton has been training in martial arts since he was seven years old. But it wasn’t until he found Saratoga’s Elite Academy of Martial Arts at 19 that he began to take his training seriously. On Friday, November 17th, over a decade later, Walton received his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt from Alliance Jiu Jitsu instructor James Bruchac.

“Jiu Jitsu helped bring out who I truly was and helped me become a better person. It gave me purpose and forced me to face myself and improve daily. I am not sure if I would be alive today if it weren’t for this place and this martial art,” Walton said in a statement after his belt ceremony.

Now 32 years old, Walton has become an integral part of the academy’s coaching staff. If one walks into the Saratoga academy on any given night, Walton can be seen teaching striking and grappling classes to children, beginners and devoted martial artists alike. Walton also represents the gym as a professional MMA fighter (with a record of 1-0), a status he acquired earlier this year in February after his round two submission win over Jason LaPage in Barre, Vermont.

“I really enjoy being a professional fighter, even though it hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” Walton said. “There’s a lot more opportunity at the pro level when it comes to opponents, plus you can finally start earning money on your fights, which is always nice.”

Yet, Walton – a student turned teacher, turned professional – has bigger ambitions than just fighting for his own name. He is blending his love of fighting with his entrepreneurial spirit and starting his own fight promotion, based in his hometown – Saratoga Springs. “My goal is to help the level of our community’s martial arts and help give people avenues to be able to make it in this sport if they want to. I’m not doing this for me; I’m in this to help the community,” Walton told us.

Coming in the new year, Walton has teamed up with a local venue to host a night of amateur fighting. But it won’t just be a one-off event. Hopefully, for Walton it will be the first of many nights. Walton continued,“When I was looking into starting my own fight promotion, I reached out to good friends of mine in the fighting world, many of them are experts when it comes to the business side of things,” Walton said.

“All I know, really, is fighting, so I had to build a good team. The owner of DonnyBrooke Fight Promotions [a well known promotion for amateur and professional fighters in the Northeast, based out of Barre, Vermont, where Walton got his debut victory] suggested I work under his name. They have a database of fighters, people reaching out for bouts and a well-established name, so it was a no-brainer for me,” Walton said.

In essence, it’s a franchise deal. Walton will work under the DonnyBrooke name and become the face of the promotion in New York, working closely with fighters throughout the region. The first event is slated for March of 2024, with a venue already established – the Saratoga City Center. “We thought it was the perfect venue for what we are trying to do. The space, the price, all of it. Plus it’s right here in my hometown.”

The City Center has been receptive to MMA events before, having hosted Kaged Kombat roughly a decade ago, at a time where MMA wasn’t nearly as popular. “I looked into a lot of venues, places were either overcharging for very little to nothing, or they just couldn’t fit what I was looking for – in terms of the size of the cage, the seating for the crowd etc,” Walton continued, “the City Center checked all of our boxes for a venue and I really want to keep our relationship with them for the future.”

DonnyBrooke’s New York promotion will put on fights in a variety of disciplines, including mixed martial arts, muay thai, kickboxing and grappling. The fights will be at an amateur level to start, but Walton plans on eventually hosting professional bouts under his promotion.

“I’ve found out that a lot of our local fighters are used to fighting only under one or two promotions, because really, there aren’t a lot of promotions near us. My goal is to have local fighters, be able to compete with fighters from all over the country, creating a fresh pool of talent.” Undoubtedly, this will create a lot more opportunity for local fighters to be seen and work their way up the ranks from amateur to professional, just as Walton did. Plus, for local martial arts fans, it’s a great way to support the local scene while enjoying fight nights right in Downtown Saratoga.

When asked where he sees DonnyBrooke Fight Promotions in the future, Walton said, “I’m hoping, years from now, to have DonnyBrooke partnered for One Championship to be a feeder into a larger, international promotion.” One Championship is a world-renowned fight promotion that began in 2011. The Singapore-based promotion works with smaller promoters all over the world to add to their ever-growing pool of fighters. They even pull from a New York City-based promotion, Warrior’s Cup, which was established in 2006.

“Warrior’s Cup is an amazing promotion, but they had to start where we are now – at the beginning – and slowly build themselves, and that’s what I want to do now, to build this promotion large enough to partner with One Championship,” Walton said.

For more information about DonnyBrooke Fight Promotions, or to buy tickets for upcoming events, check them out on Facebook or visit DonnyBrookeFightPromotions.com