We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steven Peterson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

Most people assume I am “just a fighter”, although fighting is a huge part of my persona, the push through mentality is applicable in my daily activities. Believe it or not, fighting in the UFC is just one of many outlets. I describe myself as an innovative individual who tends to branch out and explore new opportunities in-between competitions. I have experience with acting, commentating, podcast hosting, media production, and business ownership, yet I find myself developing newfound skillsets in those markets. My main goal is to positively impact the world and to create something that will live on far after I’m gone. The UFC has given me a platform and it’s my responsibility to make the most of it. In my most recent venture, I have created a media production company Ocho TV LLC. Every time I start something new like this I am told, “that I need to stick to fighting.” I tend to steer away from clear discouragement because other people’s doubt can only affect me if I believe in it. I use it as motivation to show doubters that I am more than just a fighter and I am whatever I put my mind into.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I tend to go out and conversate with new people. Sometimes the conversations that I have tend to lead to new networks. For example, I just recently tapped into the music industry with some known named artist such as Caskey, Lucid, and No Name Lane. Additionally, I am running Ocho TV, which covers the IKF Muay Thai Tournaments, XKO, and LFA fight events. I was able to plug in great individuals in the right spot to help accelerate Ocho TV to its level of success. We have Jeremiah (Jay) West handling the media side of Ocho TV, Adiare Byerly with the interviews, and Gilson Umunnakwe functioning on the social media part of the spectrum. A few of my most recent proud accomplishments was the success gained from running the July 4th Music Festival here in Dallas Texas. We had a variety of artist across the nation come out and perform. We look forward to putting another festival again. We hope to see new faces because this festival will be ten times bigger than the first. Another accomplishment would be the IKF Muay Thai tournaments at The Epic Center in Grand Prairie. The level of turn out for that event was substantial as well. I was very excited to see the number of young fighters who have aspirations to be great. This is huge because the level of athletes here in the DFW metroplex. We could possibly see the next big UFC fighter come out from the events I host.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The biggest reward of being a creative is seeing how I am molding everyone around me. Like I said previously, I wish to level a found legacy of positivity and grace to those who think of the name Steven “Ocho” Peterson. I worked diligently my whole life and overcome numerous amounts of obstacles. I am now at the position to where I can give back. My team here at Ocho TV are great. I love how I am truly having an impact on their individual goals as well. Additionally, I train the Amateurs at Fortis MMA. The knowledge that was bestowed to me, I bestow to them. My spirit and energy will live off in them as they progress through their fighting careers.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFTs are dope and I feel like they are the new wave in terms of investment. I have been researching NFTs ever since they first came about. This is a market that intrigues me and who knows maybe one day I might set foot to conquer it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/8ocho08/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ocho_tv/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OchoTV08
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/8ocho08/