UFC 97 under threat

dunkamania

http://mmamania.com/2009/02/12/ufc-97-in-jeopardy-due-to-potential-rule-changes-by-the-quebec-athletic-commission/

UFC 97 ‘Redemption,’ scheduled to take place from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on April 18 is in jeopardy of being canceled by potential rule changes from the Quebec Athletic Commission (QAC) according to Ontario’s Sportsnet.ca.

And as silly as it sounds, we may have James “Colossus” Thompson to blame.

On February 6 at Mel’s Studio in Montreal, Quebec, Titans Fighting held an MMA event that was originally supposed to be called “Strikebox.” The upstart promotion wanted to stage an event that featured all striking, prohibiting any grappling or striking on the ground.

Unfortunately Strikebox struck out, as the California-based “Strikeforce” wasn’t too keen on the name similarity and forced them to become Titans Fighting.

Secondly, the QAC would not approve of the format because it did not follow the currently sanctioned rules. The deal was have a full-fledged MMA show, or have no show at all.

Titans Fighting continued with their show, but maintain the fighters had a ‘Gentleman’s agreement” to keep the action standing.

Apparently everyone was told about this agreement except Thompson. Or if he was told, his corpulent ears might have prevented him from hearing it.

In the main event against Steve Bosse, Thompson immediately went for the takedown and rattled off some textbook ground and pound. The crowd reacted violently in disapproval, showering the cage with bottles and debris. The show was halted and both fighters and Referee Yves Lavigne ran for their lives.

In the aftermath of that disastrous event, the QAC is re-evaluating rules that govern the sport of mixed martial arts within the province and are considering changes that include a smaller cage, banning elbow and knee strikes and requiring a referee to stop a bout when a fighter gets knocked down to make sure they are okay to continue.

The QAC further stated that the UFC will be forced to comply with any proposed changes should they desire to stage an event there, which comes as a surprise considering the success of UFC 83 that was held on April 19 of 2008.

Considering the province has been following North America’s Unified Rules of MMA for over seven years, this sudden development is a bit puzzling.

I’m sure the over 12,000 fans who already purchased their tickets aren’t going to take this lying down, nor will Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice president of government and regulatory affairs.

UFC 97 is supposed to feature middleweight champion Anderson Silva, putting his 185-pound title on the line against number one division contender, Thales Leites. In the co-main event, Mauricio Rua — fresh off his less-than-thrilling victory over Mark “The Hammer” Coleman at UFC 93 — would challenge former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.

If the QAC decides that new rules are going to be in affect, let’s hope for the sake of Canadian fans it can wait until April 19. Otherwise, the UFC may have to consider other options, including relocating the show elsewhere like Las Vegas.

rovert

UFC 9 & 12 all over again. :eek:

chopperbyrne

That's disastrous.

Imagine how pissed off you'd be if you have tickets and it gets cancelled.

Fozzy

Dave Meltzer wrote a bit more about it, saying that the reason StrikeBox were forced to use MMA rules was because the fighters were wearing small gloves

The commission didn't do its job right before the last UFC show, as technically elbows and knees should have been banned for that show if their rules were followed

Tickets went on sale to the show yesterday for fan club members and it's almost completely sold out before any other fans get a chance to buy them

I think that the show will go ahead. That commission has seemed sensible enough in the past and I think that they'll allow it again

dunkamania

Compared with its counterpart in Ontario, the Quebec Athlethi commission has been a voice of reason in recent years, up until now......

SuperWoody101

chopperbyrne wrote: »

That's disastrous.

Imagine how pissed off you'd be if you have tickets and it gets cancelled.

I have two tickets to this event, I paid $800 for them cos that was the only ones they had left.

calex71

SuperWoody101 wrote: »

I have two tickets to this event, I paid $800 for them cos that was the only ones they had left.

I assmue that was face value :eek:

how good are the seats you got?

Valmont

dunkamania wrote: »

the QAC is re-evaluating rules that govern the sport of mixed martial arts within the province and are considering changes that include a smaller cage, banning elbow and knee strikes and requiring a referee to stop a bout when a fighter gets knocked down to make sure they are okay to continue.

Maybe they could give him a cup of tea and pillow while they're at it:rolleyes:

SuperWoody101

calex71 wrote: »

I assmue that was face value :eek:

how good are the seats you got?

Yes there are face value.
Section 121, Row E, Seats 10-11
Total Cost: $ 849,70

SuperWoody101

http://the-fight-site.com/2009/02/ufc-97-to-go-ahead-as-planned-in-montreal/

UFC 97 will go ahead as originally planned in the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Problems with the event first emerged when the Quebec Athletic Commission refused to back down on the following requirements:

* the use of a much smaller cage than the UFC’s patented Octagon.

* elbow and knee strikes are to be prohibited.

* the referee is required to halt a bout, should a fighter get knocked down from a strike. The fighter is then given a standing 8-count before the fight contniues.

The controversy surrounding the event forced UFC President, Dana White, co-owner, Lorenzo Fertitta, and UFC vice president Marc Ratner to meet with Candian officials this past Tuesday to work out a deal. The UFC agreed to prohibit foot stomping for this event, at the request of the commission, but apart from this, it will be UFC rules as normal.

As a back up plan, it was reported that the UFC were willing to stage the event in Las Vegas, had the negotiations with the commission not been successful.

UFC 97 will be co-headlined by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites, and Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio “Shogun’ Rua. The event will take place on April 18th.

Derek Coleman

No foot stomps? How is this MMA if there's no foot stomps? Fock sake! Might as well be watching boxing. :rolleyes:

The negotiations skills of UFC are amazing. How did they bargain them down to that? They must have used a Hypno-toad.

rovert

They should bring back Ken and Dan to fight under those rules after this sizzler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duXLpuFF9gM

Valmont

Rovert that fight should only be posted with an extreme boredom warning.

dunkamania

I have no issue with foot stomps being taken out.
They have minimal impact in a fight, but can cause longer term injuries