Since taking over as UFC Fight Pass GM in July, ERIC WINTER has been more careful when planning weekends at home with his family. In his new role, Winter travels from Calabasas, Calif., to Las Vegas every Monday morning for work and does not return until Friday evening -- a change from his schedule when running Rivals.com for nearly nine years, which allowed for plenty of time with his wife and two children. “I’d pack my kids’ lunches and take them to school, I had a very flex schedule,” Winter said. “Ever since I’ve been at UFC, my life is watching UFC athletes during our events and spending time with the family.” This weekend is especially important for Winter, as Fight Pass is exclusively offering four preliminary fight cards around UFC 192 in Houston, the most in the OTT service’s short history. Here, Winter tells THE DAILY his plans for the weekend.
COOKS IN THE KITCHEN: When I step off the plane Friday night, I’m going to try to pack in as much time with my family in as possible. Usually, on Friday nights we make a great dinner and just try to spend as much time together as possible. My daughter TILLY loves filet mignon or the hamburgers that I make, but my son HENRY won’t touch anything except white bread and mac and cheese. He can’t appreciate my culinary skills yet.
FIRST RULE OF FIGHT CLUB: This weekend is really important for our business with UFC 192, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on how my team manages the event from home -- I don’t always travel to them. I’ll have three digital devices with me wherever I am, monitoring that on Saturday night. But usually Saturdays are all about athletics and piano. I take the kids to their soccer events -- last week I signed my son up for football tryouts. My wife JOANNA and I also like to grab a babysitter we trust on Saturdays, hop in the car and try out new restaurants in the area.
FEELIN' KINDA SUNDAY: Sundays are more family events. We love going to Zuma Beach -- it’s right around the corner. We take our umbrella and plant it in the sand and spend hours at the beach watching the kids boogie boarding, dominating the waves. Sunday night, our kids usually spend time with their grandparents. We’re also huge fans of Showtime and HBO -- my wife is an "ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK" fan and will also watch MMA with me. This Sunday, I believe the new season of "HOMELAND" premiers, so I’ll make sure my kids are tucked in so my wife and I can watch that. Fantasy sports is also really big for me around this time of year. I’m a commissioner for my league but have not been able to watch one pro or college game because of my schedule. I can tell you everything about JULIO JONES, but I couldn’t tell you what his catches or touchdown receptions looked like.
