Canadian MMA Landscape Could Change Today

While the upcoming Olympics and the on-ice activities of the Canucks consistently garner the biggest headlines in the Vancouver sports scene, there could be a very important little story tucked away in the Sports pages tomorrow morning.

Vancouver City Council will meet today to vote on Mixed Martial Arts regulations that could pave the way for the UFC to hold an event in a second Canadian city, following in the highly-successful footsteps of previous events in Montreal.

Today's vote could potentially carry more weight than simply opening the third largest market in Canada; getting through Vancouver City Council could serve as a catalyst for similar legislation to be passed in Ontario, giving Toronto the opportunity to become a regular home for major Mixed Martial Arts competition as well.

As always, there are councillors who are voicing their opposition to the sport, citing both old and new concerns, the most vocal in the media being David Cadman.

The long-time Vancouver councillor asked, "Is dog fighting a sport? Is bullfighting a sport? Is cockfighting a sport," when he spoke with CTV British Columbia following successfully held amateur events in the city at the end of November.

Firstly, one would hope that the honorable councillor from Vancouver can differentiate between two human beings with cognitive reasoning skills and free will entering a cage by choice, and animals being pitted against each other at the decision of their owners and/or event organizers.

It's not as if Dana White houses the entire UFC roster in a collection of cages in the basement of his Las Vegas house...

Mr. Cadman's second concern was the effects such events would have on the youth of Vancouver once the event ends and the bars fill with fight fans:

Clearly a bunch of testosterone-pumped young people coming out of a fight like that and going into the bars is a risk and the police recognize that as a risk

While there is certainly some underlying merit to councillor Cadman's concern, the same worry about "testosterone-pumped young people" can be applied to a stirring Canucks win, or a regular Friday or Saturday night to some extent as well.

Perhaps instead of being concerned with what could result from fight fans leaving an event, Mr. Cadman and his fellow councillors should turn their efforts towards the numerous gang-related murders and violent acts that have taken place in the city this year.

Additionally, maybe Mr. Cadman could give the youth of Vancouver - and MMA fans worldwide - a shred of credit, as there is little evidence in support of their concerns regarding spectator violence following Mixed Martial Arts events.

Shifting gears to the more positive side of this story, a successful vote in Vancouver will be an important move for the Mixed Martial Arts community of both British Columbia and Canada as a whole.

While promotions such as Armageddon Fighting Championships (AFC) and King of the Cage have had success holding events on Vancouver Island, breaking into the Lower Mainland would not only help the island-based promotions, but also increase the exposure for the sport as a whole.

Dana White has previously stated that Vancouver is a target destination for the UFC, and General Motors (GM) Place is already tentatively booked for a June 2010 date with the sport's largest promotion.

The UFC is so keen on breaking this market that both Assistant General Counsel Mike Mersch and Executive VP and General Counsel Lawrence Epstein will be in attendance for today's council meeting.

Adding Vancouver to the mix would leave only Canada's largest city out of the Mixed Martial Arts loop, and perhaps seeing the success of previous events in Montreal, as well as Vancouver's decision to move forward will encourage Toronto to do the same.

Breaking into two more of the biggest markets in Canada would force coverage and understanding of the sport to increase and improve.

Media outlets could no longer ignore the fastest growing sport in the world when events are being held in their backyards, while misinformed councillors like David Cadman would get to see firsthand that his worries about escalated violence from "testosterone-pumped young people" are unfounded and the sport is more about artistry, honor and respect than producing a brutal spectacle.

The Great White North is already home to one of the greatest Mixed Martial Arts in the sport today, and hosted two of the most successful UFC events to date.

By the time the day is done, Vancouver could officially become a destination of the UFC and another point of reference for the continued legislation of the sport across the country, much to councillor David Cadman's dismay.




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Quest for Legitimacy Part III: Are You Serious?

Back in the beginning of things as an MMA writer, back-to-back days were spent discussing ways to further legitimize the sport in the eyes of the general public and the mainstream.

Since then, much has been discussed and in roads have been made, with the sport growing daily and creeping closer to garnering more substantial coverage.

In addition to needing more positive stories covered the mainstream, the sport will additionally never be taken seriously if pieces like this courtesy of UK-based MMA Bay do not stopped being circulated:

Canadian Health System Blamed for Severity of Lesnar's Illness

Please note: my objection to this piece has nothing to do with my nationality or my attitude towards Brock Lesnar. I would take equal offense to this gossip-mongering nonsense if I were from another country and wished ill upon the UFC champion as I do now as a Canadian member of Team Lesnar.

Let's start with the fact that the source for the information is Lesnar's chiropractor, Larry Novotny, who certainly doesn't stand to gain anything from getting his name out there in one of the biggest sports stories going...

Here is what Larry had to say:

His symptoms became severe while in Canada, which because of their health care system made it difficult to manage. And at this point it's a possibility that it could jeopardize his career.

I don't know if you've ever looked into the Health Care System here in Canada, but it's pretty solid. The last time the World Health Organization compiled rankings, Canada came in at #30.

While that was admittedly back in 2000 (they've ceased producing such rankings due to the enormity of the task), Canada's ranking was seven places higher than our neighbors to the South, you know, the country Lesnar calls home. The one without universal health care.

Something tells me that a lot hasn't changed since then, making Novotny's statement that about our health care system making things more difficult to manage make absolutely no sense.

Simply put, we have a better health care system here in Canada, and while I can attest first-hand that staffing levels are below what nurses would like (source: my wife... the nurse), the situation is the same throughout North America.

Disagreement with a chiropractor's views on the Canadian Health Care System aside, the fact that MMA Bay runs with this "story" in the first place is what frustrates me even more.

In 13 seconds of Google'ing, I was able to find those WHO stats which, at the very least, create speculation about the validity of the statements made by Mr. Novotny. A third grader could put together that kind of search, so what stops MMA Bay from doing the same?

The answer is readers and hits to their website.

This pseudo-story is surely getting the attention they desired, as the story came across my desk via an MMA news wire service, meaning it's making it's way through the masses, valid or not.

Additionally, the few comments that are contained on the site itself are all calls of "bullshit" as they should be, but that doesn't stop them.

Personally, I see this as reckless reporting and a blatant push for hollow hits to their website and story, and think that this approach to news is another of the impediments to our sport taking up its place in the mainstream.

If those of us who love the sport can't care enough to accurately report the news and shy away from baseless speculation and empty stories simply to draw attention, how can we expect the mainstream to feel obliged to do the same?





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The Truth Is Out There

Opponents of Mixed Martial Arts use pictures like the one above of Joe "Daddy" Stevenson bloodied and beaten to serve as an indication of the savagery and brutality of the sport.*

Mixed Martial Arts has been likened to "human cockfighting" and put forth as a sport that is a glorification and promotional instrument of violence with a base purpose of inflicting harm on your opponent.

Those who rally against the sport see only the perceived violence and brutality, neglecting to recognize any other aspects of the sport or the violent and dangerous aspects of the sports they proudly support and enjoy.


For instance, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan went on one of his usual Bob Ryan angry rants on ESPN's Around the Horn a couple weeks back about their being nothing redeeming about MMA, going as far as to say there is at least some artistry to a sport like boxing.

New York Assemblyman Bob Reilly has been working diligently to try and prevent the sanctioning of MMA in that state on the basis of the brutal nature of the competition.

Both of these men - and all the other blindly oppositional challengers of the sport - need to take the time to investigate what it is they are so vehemently opposed to and see that they are completely wrong.

I can understand opposition based on personal preference; I know a lot of people who just simply don't like MMA. I can appreciate that. I don't like the CFL or watching golf on television. We all have our preferences.

But that is not what either of these gentlemen or countless others who denounce the sport are saying. They call it horrifically violent, predicated on inflicting pain and punishment and the equivalent of legalized street fighting and that is simply not true.

While I will concede that some MMA fights turn into bloodbaths, the same can also be said for a boxing match and the occasional hockey fight as well. Any time one person is striking another person in the face, there is the chance of bleeding, not just in Mixed Martial Arts.

What amazes me is how quickly the opposition clings to images like the one that opens this piece as the staple image of the sport, when in actuality, far more fights result in no blood being spilled.

Sports like hockey and football have a serious "violent" component to them, with big body checks and devastating tackles being seen as momentum changers and "an integral part of the game." What is more dangerous: a strong safety closing from ten or fifteen yards out on a receiver who is looking the other way or Demian Maia pulling guard?

Ironically, one of the best testaments to the sport not being the glorified bloodsport these challengers offer comes from the early days of the UFC, before rules, weight classes and athletic committees became involved.

With all the possible harm one man could do to another in those "anything goes" days, the first superstar and champion of the competition was Royce Gracie, a man of average size who never threw a meaningful punch of spilled an ounce of his opponent's blood. Even then, the technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a well-executed strategy won out over beating the living hell out of someone.

More deaths and severe injuries have taken place inside a boxing ring than inside a cage in ten years of MMA's climb into the mainstream.

Fighters like Randy Couture and Dan Severen continue to step into the cage into their 40s and 50s without much more than some bad cauliflower ears, while some ex-NFL'er of the same generation deal with the effects of multiple concussions and brain damage.

Even professional wrestling puts more guys in the hospital with broken necks or backs than Mixed Martial Arts, not to mention the major and minor injuries that simply go untreated as performers do their thing 300 days a year.

Thankfully, people are starting to take a look at the sport for themselves and realize that the Bob Ryans and Bob Reillys of the world don't have all the answers and information.

Legislature to regulate Mixed Martial Arts in the Sate of New York cleared it's first hurdle yesterday, despite a 20 minute presentation of the horror of the sport by Assemblyman Reilly.

Ontario is quickly working towards doing the same after a number of years of opposition.

Just like The X-Files, the truth is out there.

You just have to get passed the loudmouth blowhards that don't know what they're talking about first.

* Sorry the first sentence no longer makes sense. Picture removed at the photographer's request.
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Quest for Legitimacy, Part II

There is no question that Mixed Martial Arts is extremely well-represented online, with countless exceptional blogs and sites devoted to the sport. In print, however, it's a bit of a different story.

While there are certainly a number of publications out there dedicated to the sport, it's my opinion that we're lacking a signature imprint to further bridge the gap from small-time sport with a fanatical following to full-blown mainstream monster.

Of course, the fact that print publications are beginning to go the way of the dinosaur and even storied mags like Rolling Stone are changing format to better suit today's market doesn't really aid in the matter, but that shouldn't prevent our sport from being represented at the highest level imaginable in print.

In North America, Fight! Magazine is recognized as the best Mixed Martial Arts publication going, especially with Ultimate Grappling undergoing their recent transition to Ultimate MMA and many of the smaller titles are simply pages of advertising stapled together with the odd interview or story tossed in for good measure.

My problem - one that I have expressed in writing to Fight! Editor-in-Chief Donovan Craig - is that while Fight! certainly offers the best all-around coverage of any publication out there, having a magazine littered with errors doesn't do the sport any justice.

If you're the best-selling MMA magazine on the planet, shouldn't you spell fighters names correctly, use the proper there/their/they're and ensure that all articles utilize proper grammar and run with the right photos?

Hell, I even offered to work for Fight! in this regard and ended up having my first and only proof go unused because I made a couple comments on the quality of the work I was given on my blog, a site that receives a whopping 47 page views a day from friends and family who have zero interest in Mixed Martial Arts.

Personal situations aside, am I incorrect here? Can you expect this sport that we love so much to be accepted by the masses when the people who earn a living covering it refuse to take the proper care and ensure all their information is correct? Sure mistakes happen, here and there, but one previous article had the names of four prominent fighters incorrect.

You can see the impact that one television show has had on the industry in North America, as The Ultimate Fighter took the sport from the backyard to the boardroom so to speak and having high quality publications can do the same.

With as many outstanding websites and blogs as we have, why do we still have some decidedly sub-standard publications?

Until only the absolute best is being presented time in and time out, we'll continue to remain unaccepted and misunderstood.

Note: As we go, anything that comes up in the world of MMA that challenges the sport's acceptance into mainstream culture will be discussed here under the same Quest for Legitimacy banner. We're not done at two...
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Quest for Legitimacy, Part I

Above is Jose Canseco.

Former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco.

Former Surreal Life house member Jose Canseco.

One-time celebrity boxer who couldn't knock out Partridge Family member Danny Bonaduce Jose Canseco.

Does it say anything about Mixed Martial Arts anywhere in the previous sentences?

Of course it doesn't, because Jose Canseco has never trained for MMA and should never be allowed anywhere close to an MMA fight, which makes DREAM's decision to have the former Bash Brother take on 7-foot-2 Korean kickboxer Hong Man Choi in the opening round of their eight-man tournament at DREAM 9 a step backwards for Mixed Martial Arts.

The card itself is actually quite impressive, headlined by the Featherweight Grand Prix featuring well-respected talents like Gesias " JZ Calvan" Calvalcante, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Kid Yamamoto. Even the eight-man tournament Canseco is scheduled to fight in possess some quality fighters, including my 2008 Fighter of the Year Gegard Mousasi taking on Mark Hunt.

But none of that will receive coverage outside of hardcore MMA circles on this continent. The main story will be the debut of a former baseball player who brought the steroid scandal that still lingers in that sport today to the forefront and that is certainly not a good thing.

As a passionate follower of Mixed Martial Arts since the first UFC, seeing the sport grow and gain the cultural and mainstream acceptance it has over the past few years has been outstanding, but I'm not naive enough to believe the fight is over.

Just yesterday on Pardon the Interruption, Michael Wilbon commented on how happy he was to see Manny Pacquiao's second round knockout of Ricky Hatton instead of "that cage fighting" stuff. While I too loved seeing Pacquaio light-up Hatton over the weekend, his knockout was nowhere near as impressive as Toby Imada's triangle submission of Jorge Masvidal in the Bellator semifinals.

And Wilbon is a guy who has had the opportunity to see Mixed Martial Arts and form an opinion, yet he still has little regard for the sport. What are people who have been opposed to Mixed Martial Arts from the outset going to think when all they hear about DREAM 9 is that Jose Canseco was fighting? This sport that we love and defend at every chance we get takes a serious kick in the credibility.

Mixed Martial Arts has had a hard enough time getting to where it is right now and the battle is far from over. Many states and provinces still refuse to sanction the sport and there are as many detractors as there are advocates both in the media and the general population.

Regardless of the fact that the fight is taking place in Japan, promoting a fight with a D-List celebrity who is willing to do almost anything for a little extra pocket money only hampers MMA's quest for legitimacy here in North America.

In Part II, we'll look at how MMA publications can impact the sport.

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