On MMA — The latest from the commission

So the game of phone tag with the Ontario Athletics Commission is over. One of chairman Ken Hayashi's assistants left me a voicemail on Thursday outlining the commission's stance on MMA in light of new legislation in Massachusetts legalizing the sport.

Basically, it's the same as the their stance before the new law in Massachusetts. Same as it's been for as long as anyone can remember.

Nothing has changed, and nobody at the commission is planning any changes.

I know it's not the news most local MMA fans want to hear, and I understand there's a lot of bitterness toward Hayashi in Ontario's mixed martial arts community. He's certainly a convenient target, and since he's the head of the commission that runs combat sports (correction, combat "sport") in this province it's easy to conclude that the only thing standing between Ontario and MMA is his recalcitrant attitude.

But, as Jason Abelson points out in a comment on a previous post, this issue probably goes far beyond what any one man thinks about the sport. 

Even if Marc Ratner et al can convince Hayashi that octagons are much safer than boxing rings (and they probably are — shorter fights and fewer blows to the head), it wouldn't, as Jason points out, change the number of qualified officials in the province. Nor does it boost the number of commission staffers available to oversee MMA events.

Two summers ago the commission forced Hennessey Sports to cancel a scheduled boxing show at Casino Niagara because the event fell only eight days before Steve Moltior's title defence at Casino Rama. 

The rationale?

The short-staffed commission couldn't handle two big events so close together, so one show had to go.

“We’ve never had two major dates scheduled so close together before. We generally have maybe four or five shows a year," Hayashi told thefightnetwork.com in April 2007. "So the commission simply can’t handle all the demands that these two shows will entail.”

If the current annual workload — quarterly shows at Rama plus a handful of other events — stresses the commission to its limit, how would it react to a sudden proliferation of MMA events? Not very well if the summer of 2007 is a useful indicator.

So yes, a sold-out UFC show at the Air Canada Centre would generate a ton of cash for the province. But it might never happen unless some money first goes into expanding the athletic commission's staff.

Comments

[MATT PELLAR]

UFC IS A GREAT SPORT, AND IT IS A SHAME THAT IT IS NOT LEGAL HERE IN TORONTO. CANADIANS ARE RABID MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FANS, AND ACC WOULD BE A PERFECT VENUE.
ITS VERY EASY TO DISMISS THE SPORT AS BARBARIC, AND I IMPLORE THE DECISION MAKERS IN THIS CASE TO WATCH UFC WITH AN OPEN MIND AND SEE IT FOR THE PROFESSIONAL, RESPECTFUL, SPORT THAT IT IS.

[Steve Massey]

Use of the term 'rabid fans' by the previous poster is entirely appropriate. MMA is a disgrace. It reminds me of that sickening feeling I get a a hockey game when the audience leaps to its feet and cheers for the first time, not because of a goal, but because a fight has broken out. Apparently Ontarians love a good brawl, a fact that causes me to grow increasingly ashamed as I get older. When I was a child, fighting was as commonplace as it is now, perhaps more so, as there was tolerance for it on the schoolgrounds up to a point. While I don't condone violence of any kind, the major difference I can recall is that if an opponent fell, he was beaten - no one would leap on him and pummel him, or kick him when down - the earmarks of a good UFC fight. UFC is a gladiatorial shame that does nothing but lower the quality of our culture.

[MATT PELLAR]

Don't Judge what you don't know. These are world class athletes. The bouts are much more than people pummeling each-other, it takes years upon years of training, these guys dedicate themselves to the sport.

It's a shame that UFC appeals to the worst demographic, "meatheads", and the UFC has to pander to them, but it is a far cry from its 1980's roots. UFC has really cleaned up its act. Audiences have become good observers of the sport as well; I hear cheers when a fighter passes his opponents' guard. Do you know what "passing guard" is?

Any contact sport athlete faces severe risk of injury. UFC is one of the more humane sports out there. The refs always have safety in mind. There is no 10 count like boxing; once you're out, you're out. Also wins can come by submission; no punches. No one has died in a UFC ring, I can't even count how many boxers have died in the ring or how many football players died on the field.

Also, Steve Massey, I don't understand what your school yard experiences have to do with UFC (ps kicking someone who is down is illegal in UFC) and I think thats the big problem. People start comparing this sport to actual violence and the fact that its a sport gets lost on people. Go pester Biathlon athletes, they make kids think its okay to shoot people while cross-country skiing.