MMA Event Minimum Standards!!

John Ferguson

What are the minimum standards that you believe should be provided by ANY promoter of an MMA event. Would like views from fighters, coaches and promoters

SDTimeout

I would row in behind any promoter who didn't have to ask the question if steroids were active in Irish MMA.

crap just realised this is void as i am neither a fighter coach nor promoter.

_oveless

Not any of the above either but I'd say the list would look a bit like:

• A full medical presence (doctors and first aid)
• fair matchmaking
• strict weigh ins
• qualified referees and judges

tyreman1

_oveless wrote: »

Not any of the above either but I'd say the list would look a bit like:

• A full medical presence (doctors and first aid)
• fair matchmaking
• strict weigh ins
• qualified referees and judges

i couldnt agree more regarding wiegh ins......i see fighters break their balls time and time again to make wieght for a set time on a set date and yet his/her opponent stroll's in 2 to 3 hours later..
i think this shud be addressed as different promotions have different rules and regulations...i think this is a huge part of a fighters camp and he is working towards that set time sometimes even doing damage to his body not to mention his mind set going into the cage..
maybe we could get an idea on that specific rule for each promotion?
or even better try and agree on a set rule...
E.G.
weigh in 3pm to 4pm
if by 4pm you havent made weight by 4pm,you are allowed one hour to drop the excess...
if by 5pm you still havent made weight if agreed with the opposite corner, a catch weight fight..
this would also mean the guy that missed weight would automatically lose one third his purse to his opponent and one third his purse to the promoter..:eek::eek::eek::eek:
obviosly apart from the embarrasment of not making weight the money loss is a incentive to wiegh in on the button or the allowed allowance..

stephen

crosdad

posting the fight results to a database such as sherdog. testing maybe too, litterally anyone in the irish scene could take steroids and get away wit it. maybe i shouldnt be saying this,could encourage guys to do so.

colinlaird000

Drug Testing would be great, If the promoter could afford it.
Weigh ins should be attended by a representitive of the promoter at least
Full medical crew with 1 ambulance at event and 1 available to cover.
3 impartial judges, with significant experience in at least 2 of the 3 ranges required for MMA fighting.
Doctor on site (To be honest every time I've been involved in a fight inside or outside the ring the entire medical team have always been never less than excellent.)
Fully "qualified" refs. And more refs would be nice
Apologies for my ignorance, but does anyone "approve" the cage / ring? are the constructed to a British / European ? Irish standard? (ie have a kitemark)
Matchmaking should be fair and impartial. More importantly theres nothing worse than seeing some guy get a beating due to a mismatch. Neither fighter learns from this. Remember most stat sites record who you beat, as well as the fact you've won.
Straightforward access from the changing area to the competition area.
Showers would be nice on occasion

I've a load more points but I'll leave these few open to the floor for discussion.

Jason McCabe

I hate going to events and there not being decent warm up areas with matts.

It shouldn't be that hard to throw a few in a van and bring them to the event.


Though it's not a show stopper.


Minimum
* Qualified Ref
* Independant Judging - Not just some randoms chosen on the night
* Medical crew with ambulance
* No seniors fighting juniors
* Hot ring girl

cowzerp

Jason McCabe wrote: »

Minimum
* Qualified Ref
* Independant Judging - Not just some randoms chosen on the night
* Medical crew with ambulance
* No seniors fighting juniors

Agreed, i'd love if we where to put on judging courses and ref courses so we can be all using the same judges too

main issues are fighter safety and match making is an important fixture in that, well matched fights rarely end up in injury, good refs such as Dave, Peter etc also play the most important role in fighter safety.

David Jones

Agreed, i'd love if we where to put on judging courses and ref courses so we can be all using the same judges too

main issues are fighter safety and match making is an important fixture in that, well matched fights rarely end up in injury, good refs such as Dave, Peter etc also play the most important role in fighter safety.

If we arent involved in reffing a particular show, most of us are available to judge. So far Cage Contender is the only promotion to use a judge/ referee rotation system. So that all who judge are also capable of refereeing. I personally think its the way to go. I think a lot of promotions will pay for a ref, fighters, medical etc but when it comes to judging it's a case of "sure 3 of the lads from the club will do". That's simply not good enough these days. Judges should be totally focused on the event and not visiting the bar as I have also witnessed recently.

Sid_Justice

i think drug testing is a very minor concern for most. is that a fair comment?

i'd hazard a guess that getting samples tested for drugs would probably cost more than most of the fighers' purse.

John Ferguson

Sid_Justice wrote: »

i think drug testing is a very minor concern for most. is that a fair comment?

i'd hazard a guess that getting samples tested for drugs would probably cost more than most of the fighers' purse.

CC have been doing random urine tests from show one, its not that much money

John Ferguson

I think any list should include:

* Weigh ins should have at least one official present and video weigh ins where used must be viewed by officials and opponents coaching team

* Matted warm up area

* Water and Ice

* Fruit for fighters

* Medical Crew (preferably 2 crews with 2 vehicle then an event can continue if one is away with a fighter)

* 4 Officials (at least 3 on a rotation system)

* Hand wraps/gloves signed off by an official

* Use a venue that is fit for purpose

* Full event health and safety plan for fighters and crowd (if this is not done and God forbid there is an incident it will create enough bad press to balls it up for everyone)

* Cage/Ring tested while in place and certified (a basic part of the health and safety plan)

* Approval from local police, fire and licensing authorities (again part of the health and safety plan)

* Public liability Insurance insurance cover (min £5m)

* Written contract for fighters

* Result added to data base (mma universe etc)

This is by no means a full list but I believe it's the very bare minimum required to run an event where both fighters and fans are safe.

On matchmaking this is as much the responseability of coaches as it is the promoter/ organiser of a show. The promoter/organiser only offers the fight, it is the coaches who have the final say.

Every one should be at the weigh in on time, our CC contract states weigh ins are at 3pm, if you miss weight you have 2 hours to make it. If you fail to make it you have one final chance at 1pm the following day. At CC7 we had a problem where some fighters didn't show up to near the 5pm cut off, we have now changed the contracts to explain you must be there at 3pm or there will be a financial penalty. It's not fair that one guy makes the effort to be there on time and others don't.

tyreman1

fightie wrote: »

I think any list should include:

* Weigh ins should have at least one official present and video weigh ins where used must be viewed by officials and opponents coaching team

* Matted warm up area

* Water and Ice

* Fruit for fighters

* Medical Crew (preferably 2 crews with 2 vehicle then an event can continue if one is away with a fighter)

* 4 Officials (at least 3 on a rotation system)

* Hand wraps/gloves signed off by an official

* Use a venue that is fit for purpose

* Full event health and safety plan for fighters and crowd (if this is not done and God forbid there is an incident it will create enough bad press to balls it up for everyone)

* Cage/Ring tested while in place and certified (a basic part of the health and safety plan)

* Approval from local police, fire and licensing authorities (again part of the health and safety plan)

* Public liability Insurance insurance cover (min £5m)

* Written contract for fighters

* Result added to data base (mma universe etc)

This is by no means a full list but I believe it's the very bare minimum required to run an event where both fighters and fans are safe.

On matchmaking this is as much the responseability of coaches as it is the promoter/ organiser of a show. The promoter/organiser only offers the fight, it is the coaches who have the final say.

Every one should be at the weigh in on time, our CC contract states weigh ins are at 3pm, if you miss weight you have 2 hours to make it. If you fail to make it you have one final chance at 1pm the following day. At CC7 we had a problem where some fighters didn't show up to near the 5pm cut off, we have now changed the contracts to explain you must be there at 3pm or there will be a financial penalty. It's not fair that one guy makes the effort to be there on time and others don't.

good points john,
regarding the weigh ins, if the fighter cant make weight with a 2 hour allowance which brings the time to 5pm surely this doesnt warrant another period of time to drop the excess...
in my opinion someone weighing in should be close to the required weight so if he is over he should be able to cut the last bit within two hours...
coming to a weigh in where you require two additional deadlines to make weight is not very professional as a fighter...

Barry.Oglesby

Just re: weigh ins

It's a big ask for a lot of lads who are already struggling to keep their jobs to get a day off to go and weigh in and to be expected to be there at a given time. I agree, pros should be in time but when you're dealing with guys who are office workers, carpenters, barmen who have to show up for work on a Friday, I don't think they should incur a financial penalty because they have employees or customers.

I know it's hassle for promoters, but people sacrifice a lot to fight in the lead up to events for, lets face it, **** all money. To ask a guy to take a financial penalty (time off work) so that he doesn't incur another financial penalty (weigh in late fee) is too much imo. I think promotions should be more accommodating and appreciate that they're already getting a lot from the fighter (6 weeks training, €€€ in ticket sales).

Now I agree if a guys says "I'll be there at 3pm" then he should be. But there should be some allowance if a guy says "I can't be there".

Barry.Oglesby

Sorry just to add that the reason I'm not commenting on "standards" is because I can't see this going anywhere but to the dogs. We had a real debate on the rules of the sport and we still can't agree on those. So if we can't agree on something as simple as that, I don't see any reason to move on to what database should be updated or how many bananas should be in a dressing room.

Fall_Guy

fightie wrote: »

I think any list should include:
Every one should be at the weigh in on time, our CC contract states weigh ins are at 3pm, if you miss weight you have 2 hours to make it. If you fail to make it you have one final chance at 1pm the following day. At CC7 we had a problem where some fighters didn't show up to near the 5pm cut off, we have now changed the contracts to explain you must be there at 3pm or there will be a financial penalty. It's not fair that one guy makes the effort to be there on time and others don't.

There seems to be a lot of focus on health and safety in your main points which is commendable but do you not feel that allowing people a chance to make weight on the day of the fight is at odds with this? What I mean is, in the likelihood that the person has already been cutting some amount of weight through dehydration methods to make the weight, will he have sufficient time to rehydrate and get his glycogen levels back up after attempting to cut more weight up until possibly only a few hours before the fight?

Dehydration is thought to lead to the human brain being more susceptible to injury (http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/dehydration-brain-damage.htm), and I would have thought that this was at least partially the thinking behind having weigh-ins the day before a fight in the first place?

Tim_Murphy

I'm with Barry on this one.

On a side-note, sandwiches and gummy bears for cornermen are always a nice touch and would't cost too much...

John Ferguson

Tim_Murphy wrote: »

I'm with Barry on this one.

On a side-note, sandwiches and gummy bears for cornermen are always a nice touch and would't cost too much...

Ok lads fair enough about the standards thing, but this isn't about the number of mouth watering fruits (not forgeting sarnis and jelly sweets for Mr Murphy ) in the dressing room. If I could put it a different way, what are the very least things you expect before you let any of the guys you look after fight on an event?

cowzerp

Fall_Guy wrote: »

Dehydration is thought to lead to the human brain being more susceptible to injury (http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/dehydration-brain-damage.htm), and I would have thought that this was at least partially the thinking behind having weigh-ins the day before a fight in the first place?

totally agrred on this-Same day weigh ins result in fighters fighting dehydrated and been at far higer risk of serious injury.aswell as minor ones too.

John Ferguson

Fall_Guy wrote: »

There seems to be a lot of focus on health and safety in your main points which is commendable but do you not feel that allowing people a chance to make weight on the day of the fight is at odds with this? What I mean is, in the likelihood that the person has already been cutting some amount of weight through dehydration methods to make the weight, will he have sufficient time to rehydrate and get his glycogen levels back up after attempting to cut more weight up until possibly only a few hours before the fight?

Dehydration is thought to lead to the human brain being more susceptible to injury (http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/dehydration-brain-damage.htm), and I would have thought that this was at least partially the thinking behind having weigh-ins the day before a fight in the first place?

Thanks for the point!! This is the very type of reason I started the thread. I know some of the bigger UK shows run the same system that we do. I am thinking of moving towards if u miss weight you have a 2 hour window and if you miss again the fight is off.

Although it was an option on our contract it was something that was never taken up by anyone,

t-ha

1. An opponent
2. The spirit of Helio Gracie guiding me

Everything else = optional

tommyl2010

t-ha wrote: »

1. An opponent
2. The spirit of Helio Gracie guiding me

Everything else = optional

clearly someone was dehydrated, had a fight, then posted on this thread!!