Rick Villanueva Somiyah Braggs interview on Calgary fight streams

The Rick Villanueva Somiyah Braggs interview covered how Villanueva built a small-camera production setup for Warpath’s Muay Thai events on MILLIONS, why he wants more opportunities for local martial artists in Calgary, and why he thinks women’s fights deserve more attention. He also explained the skills and equipment behind a live stream—and how an earlier nightclub show led him into fight production.

How did Rick Villanueva get into live-streaming combat sports?

Rick Villanueva moved from event photography and nightclub video work into combat sports when Warpath used a venue where he had already handled live video. He later assembled a camera crew and switching kit for a Warpath event on MILLIONS, seeing an opening for smaller Calgary events that could not afford a large production crew.

A nightclub show led to Warpath

Villanueva had worked in professional and event photography for years when a burlesque group needed its nightclub performance shown on the venue’s large screens. After he set up the video, the group asked him to continue helping with production. Warpath then came to the same venue for its first Muay Thai fight, and he helped with that event too.

For Warpath’s second event, the organizers wanted to use the MILLIONS platform. Villanueva said the production came together at the last minute. Looking toward another fight, he identified lighting as a problem the club could not solve on its own and planned to bring in a lighting rig.

The smaller-event production gap in Calgary

Villanueva described a niche for three- or four-camera shoots in Calgary. In his comparison, a larger company might bring a crew of 15 and cost around $10,000, putting that level of production beyond a smaller promoter. He wants to offer events, including amateur boxing shows, a more manageable way to get on camera.

What video production skills does Rick Villanueva consider essential?

Rick Villanueva considers camera placement, technical knowledge and timing essential to live production. A fight camera operator needs to follow the action around the ring, while the person running the show must understand switching, graphics, audio cues and the connection to the streaming platform. In a small company, those jobs often overlap.

Finding the angle and running the show

A camera cannot simply point at the ring, Villanueva said. The operator has to move to find the angle that captures a kick and the reaction to it. He sees the same principle in other sports: being in the right place with the right equipment determines whether viewers experience the moment.

Beyond camera work, he described coordinating music, graphics, announcers and camera changes so they happen at the right time. His own responsibilities also include negotiating contracts, testing the stream and working with the platform’s engineering team. Lighting matters after the event as well: he estimated that polishing one minute of video can take 10 minutes of editing, or 30 minutes when poor lighting needs correction.

Developing a recognizable style

When Somiyah Braggs described learning to edit in CapCut, Villanueva pointed to lighting, color and camera angles as choices that give a production its own look. He recalled a podcaster changing colored lights behind her to suit the tone of a conversation. Even a slight camera tilt, he said, can make the ring appear more dramatic.

What events beyond fights has Rick Villanueva worked on or proposed?

Rick Villanueva currently focuses on martial arts and boxing production, but his live-video experience began with nightclub performances. He also thinks dance competitions could make compelling small-event streams: performers already have moves worth showing, and a well-produced contest could give audiences a reason to follow them.

Lou Blucia on the nightclub screens

One nightclub production was Lou Blucia, a staged wrestling-style show that Villanueva described as deliberately outrageous. His crew used the venue’s screens to make the performance look bigger. That experience showed him how camera choices could change the way an audience saw an event before he applied similar work to fights.

Dance competitions and the Shuffle Mamas

Villanueva also brought up everything from tango to urban dance. On Facebook, he follows the Shuffle Mamas, two women he described filming shuffle steps in a garage with a 4K camera. He liked the energy of their paired moves and suggested that a competition could give viewers more performers and routines to discover.

What video production equipment does Rick Villanueva use?

Rick Villanueva uses a Blackmagic Design 4K camera as his stationary main camera, a Canon XC15 4K for a moving operator and an action camera for difficult angles. He switches the live feed with a four-channel Ghost Stream board. Although the cameras can shoot in 4K, he said the stream runs in 1080.

Camera positions at a fight

The Canon goes in a body harness so its operator can move around, while the Blackmagic Design camera stays in place to cover the main action. The action camera fills a position where he would like another operator but cannot easily put one. Villanueva is also enthusiastic about GoPro models with removable lenses for compact on-site shooting.

Switching boards and production costs

He prefers his Ghost Stream board for live fights because he finds it more intuitive than a Blackmagic Design video board, whose additional features would take more time to learn. He is considering an eight-channel board that could accommodate PTZ cameras. He does not want to take on a hockey or soccer game: the area to cover would be too large for the kind of operation he wants to run.

In discussing affordability, Villanueva contrasted a $10,000 larger-company production with an example of a smaller event costing about $1,500. He also noted that streaming still takes people to handle graphics, talent, technical coordination and marketing; lowering the production cost does not remove that work.

Why does Rick Villanueva want to support local martial arts?

Rick Villanueva wants smaller streams to give Calgary and Alberta fighters events that local audiences can watch and support. A former fighter who served as Calgary’s boxing commissioner, he believes cooperation between schools, promoters and production crews could create more chances for amateurs than relying only on major fight cards.

From fighting to event production

Villanueva said he fought in the 1990s and helped bring in rules for mixed martial arts and professional martial arts fighting while serving as the city’s boxing commissioner. His background is one reason he remains interested in filming martial arts, rather than treating the fights as just another kind of client work.

A season built around local schools

He imagined Toronto schools bringing their best amateurs into a series of events that would eventually identify a leading fighter in a weight class. Viewers could stream the contests or attend in person, recognize someone from their own school and follow their progress. Villanueva said smaller production companies could help such events happen, but the schools and organizers would have to cooperate.

What did Rick Villanueva say about women in Muay Thai?

Rick Villanueva wants audiences to give women’s Muay Thai fights more attention. In his view, the fighters’ speed and technique make their bouts especially engaging, yet spectators often focus on men’s contests. He also wants girls to see more sporting opportunities and local athletes they can look up to.

Villanueva contrasted the pace he sees in women’s fights with the heavier exchanges he associates with bigger male fighters. He urged anyone who has a chance to watch female Muay Thai fighters to go. His concern extends beyond the ring: he talked about encouraging girls he knows to try karate when other sports opportunities seemed directed at boys.

He pointed to women’s basketball and the women’s FIFA World Cup as examples of athletes gaining attention, and encouraged Braggs to speak with women’s basketball players in Toronto. Villanueva tied that advice to his broader reason for helping local performers and athletes. He put it this way:

You do good in the world when you help make other people's dreams come true

Who is Rick Villanueva?

Rick Villanueva is the production manager for NetCastConsulting, a Calgary-based company specializing in event photography and video production for event streaming.