Frederico Lapenda
Director

Combat Sports & Media

A leader and pioneer in the ultimate fighting and mixed martial arts industry, Lapenda sources and executes on transactions in the MMA and media spaces. His sports business acumen, familiarity with the MMA market and its history, and experience as a producer of sports-based television programs offer a unique combination of strengths to Park Lane clients.

Lapenda was born in Brazil and lived there until 1987, when he moved to Los Angeles to study film. In 1996, he created and produced the World Vale Tudo Championship, which was held in Tokyo and became one of the biggest fighting franchises in the world. These efforts, coupled with Lapenda’s marketing insight, paved the way for the creation of the Pride Fighting Championship and made Japan a major MMA market. He went on to produce and promote events across the globe in the following years.

Hailed as a “true visionary” by Grappling magazine, Lapenda produced the first weekly MMA fight show on American cable, Combate Mortal, which attracted double-digit ratings. He also co-produced two of the first MMA documentaries, The Smashing Machine (HBO) and Rites of Passage (PPV), both of which are considered the gold standard in the industry. He introduced pay-per-view to Brazilian television, and the World Vale Tudo Championship was only the fourth MMA show to ever air on PPV in the U.S. He has promoted fighters such as Mark Kerr, Igor Vovchanchyn, Pedro Rizzo, Marco Ruas, and Heath Hearing, among others.

In 2002, Lapenda joined Mandalay Entertainment as a filmmaker and producer, and he also hangs his hat at Paradigm Pictures.