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Evan
02-12-2009, 08:59 PM
oh no

http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/106921/ufc97_poster_190.jpg


Fallout from a recent local card in Winnipeg as well as the Strikebox card in Montreal may have a huge impact on if the UFC is able to do business in Canada. Sportsnet.ca is reporting that Quebec Athletic Commission is looking at vastly changing the rules and regulations that govern the sport in the province, a move that could endanger the possibility of Montreal hosting UFC 97:

Sources close to the QAC say these could include a requirement for a much smaller cage than the UFC’s patented Octagon, prohibiting elbow and knee strikes and requiring that the referee halt a bout should a fighter get knocked down from a strike in order to ensure the downed fighter is okay to continue.

Representatives from the commission told Sportsnet.ca the UFC will have to follow the rules set forth by the commission if they wish to hold their show in Montreal. Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice president of government and regulatory affairs, is fully aware of the new situation and is hopeful that ongoing discussions with the commission will prove that this will not jeopardize the UFC’s return to the province.

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail, but if the UFC is in need of a fallback venue, they should be able to ramp up a card quickly in their home base of Las Vegas.

polandprzem
02-13-2009, 08:30 AM
Yea before I read the last sentence I wanted to post that they will quit the Montreal and make a show in Las vegas.

They want to kill the sport? WTF?

UFC already prohibited many things in fight situations.

dbreiden83080
02-13-2009, 12:10 PM
Fallout from a recent local card in Winnipeg as well as the Strikebox card in Montreal may have a huge impact on if the UFC is able to do business in Canada. Sportsnet.ca is reporting that Quebec Athletic Commission is looking at vastly changing the rules and regulations that govern the sport in the province, a move that could endanger the possibility of Montreal hosting UFC 97:

What happened in those shows that was so bad?? A couple of bad injuries.. And obviously they won't change anything. THey'll just head to Vegas, really a shame, i mean UFC 83 was friggin huge and they were starting to get established there..

dbreiden83080
02-13-2009, 12:20 PM
Here we go

The UFC’s second trip to Montreal is in jeopardy following a decision by the Quebec Boxing Commission this week to adhere to regulations that prohibit elbow and knee strikes and other standard MMA moves.

Sportsnet.ca was the first to report on the story on Thursday.

Nearly 13,000 tickets have been sold for UFC 97 “Redemption,” scheduled to take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 18, according to Marc Ratner, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the UFC. The show, which pits middleweight champion Anderson Silva against jiu-jitsu ace Thales Leites, may face tough choices in the coming days though.

The UFC broke attendance and box office records with its first event on Canadian soil 10 months ago, though that show was regulated under rules more akin to the unified rules of combat recognized throughout North America.

From 2000-2008, the Universal Combat Challenge, later renamed TKO, held 44 of its 46 events in Quebec under similar regulations as well.

But now Québécois officials are saying the province does not have the latitude to allow those or any other set of regulations outside of the ones they already have in place.

“We had a tolerance for the application of the rules in the past,” Réjean Thériault, director of communications for the combat sports division of the Governing Body of Alcohol, Races and Games of Quebec (RACJ), which oversees the commission, told Shedog.com on Thursday. “We learned today that we had a place for tolerance and we didn’t know. Now we know the rules under which to live. We informed all the promoters last week that they must now respect the rules of Quebec.”

Those rules regulate boxing, kickboxing and “mixed boxing,” which is described as a combination of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. Along with the prohibition of elbow and knee strikes both standing and grounded, the regulations also state that a referee will utilize a standing count to check on a fighter that has been knocked down.

The Octagon might also face downsizing to comply with the requirements, said Thériault.

Ratner, who has been in close contact with both the RACJ and commission in the last few days, said he believes the genesis for the sudden turn-around came from the near-riot that occurred last Friday at a Strikebox/Titans Fighting event in Montreal.

That event, promoted by former TKO president Stephan Patry, aimed to utilize MMA striking rules, but negated the ground aspect of the sport. However, the commission advised Patry that the proposed rule changes would not be allowed, and that the show would follow MMA regulations instead.

A private agreement amongst a majority of the fighters to keep the bouts standing was followed until the main event, when British brawler James Thompson took down Steve Bosse and began to ground-and-pound the Canadian hockey enforcer. The crowd of nearly 1,200 spectators erupted in disapproval, throwing chairs and beer cans. The commission called the contest, while the fighters had to be escorted out of the cage by security.

Though Thériault acknowledges that the Strikebox/Titans fiasco played a role in what appears to be a sudden adherence to the rules on hand, he said the decision has already been in the works for some time.

“[The Strikebox scenario] was an important part of getting us to this point, but Richard Renaud [Director of the Division of Combat Sports in the RACJ], who is replacing Mario LaTraverse, has been working with the President of the RACJ, Denis Racicot to change the sport, and noted that we had tolerated the [past] rules,” Thériault said.

Ratner believes LaTraverse’s retirement from the commission has also played a role in the recent events, but sees a positive outcome on the horizon.

“We're aware of the situation and working with [the RACJ and the Quebec Boxing Commission] to resolve the situation,” Ratner told Sherdog.com on Thursday. “I'm confident that this will all work out.”

While Ratner said discussions regarding the rules would continue into next week, Thériault emphasized that the RACJ was neither making any drastic changes nor trying to run the UFC out of town.

“We’re not following any new rules,” he said. “We’re following the rules that are in place.”

Loretta Hunt contributed to this report.

Evan
02-13-2009, 06:22 PM
UFC 97 and the sport of MMA are in need of our support.

Réjean Thériault, the communications director for the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, which governs alcohol, racing, gambling and combat sports in Quebec, told CorusSports the UFC's use of elbows and knees to the head do not currently fall in line with the commission's policies. The report goes on to state that sources have indicated the commission may be looking to require "a much smaller cage than the UFC's patented Octagon, prohibiting elbow and knee strikes and requiring that the referee to halt a bout should a fighter get knocked down from a strike in order to ensure the downed fighter is OK to continue."

To read the entire article, click the link below:
- POSSIBLE RULE CHANGES PUT UFC 97 IN JEOPARDY - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more.

If these rule changes are mandated, I feel it is likely Zuffa will cancel the event. This will be a significant setback for this great sport. Zuffa and the sport of MMA are in need of support from their fans and customers to help over turn this ridiculous policy.

Please join me and send an e-mail message to Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux letting them know your thoughts on this policy.

Click the link below to send an e-mail message to Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux:
[email protected]

If you do not have time to personalize a message, I created a generic message, which you may copy and edit, below:

Mr. Réjean Thériault:

It is of major concern to me that you are considering mandating rule changes which will majorly alter the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). The rules which the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) adheres to are common throughout the United States and much of the world.

The sport of MMA has a proven safety record over the past 16 years of its modern day existence. In fact, it is widely believed that the sport of MMA is safer than the sport of boxing.

In the 16 year existence of the sport, only one fighter, unfortunately, was killed during a sanctioned MMA event. In boxing, there have been about 10.4 deaths per year in the sport. In fact, statistics show that in fatal boxing matches, the number of punches landed are significantly higher, with 26.6 punches landed per round, than the number of punches landed in an average match, with only 9.4 punches landed per round. Mixed martial arts competitors do not sustain nearly as many power shots to the head as witnessed in an average boxing match. If an MMA competitor is in trouble or cannot match the striking skills of his opponent he has the option to wrestle his opponent to the floor and continue the match grappling and wrestling.

A comparison detailing the number of boxing matches each year to the number of MMA matches each year should also be made to get a more accurate assessment, but regardless, the statistics speak for themselves. In the past 16 years that MMA has existed, there has been one unfortunate fatal match compared to the over 150 fatalities suffered in the sport of boxing.

In addition, many of the rules allowed in MMA are also allowed in other combat sports. For instance, kicks, punches, elbows, and knees are all allowed in the sport of Muay Thai kick boxing. Choke hold submissions are allowed in the Olympics in the sport of Judo. Arm bars and other submission holds are legal in the sport of jiu-jitsu which many children across the world practice daily. MMA basically takes all of these sports; boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu, and combines them into one sport.

Many other comparisons can be made to other contact sports; such as, American football, hockey, and rugby to depict the safety records of these sports to the safety record of MMA. The comparison will leave no doubt that MMA has a strong proven safety record in comparison to these other sports. The sport of MMA is sanctioned and legal in over 40 states in the United States with mandating of over 30 rules and regulation constructed for the safety of the competitor.

The UFC put on one of the best events in their history last year in Montreal with over 21,000 fans in attendance and a live gate of approximately $5.1 million and nearly one-million people watching the event live on pay-per-view with a charge of $44.95 to $54.95. The UFC president, Dana White, has claimed on numerous occasions the Canadian fans are among the best in the world. After witnessing the show in Montreal last year, I tend to agree with him.

Please, for the sake of the UFC 97 event and the sport of MMA as a whole, reconsider your policy on the rules of mixed martial arts in Quebec. Your determination on this matter could make millions of people very happy.

Sincerely,

Your Name

desflood
02-18-2009, 06:02 PM
A UFC 97 event planned for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has reportedly been saved.

Lat week Canadian officials said the UFC could not conduct the April 18 "UFC 97: Redemption" card with the UFC's current rules.

However, according to corussports.com, a French-language website that has covered the series of events, the UFC will prohibit foot stomps at the commission's request, but elbow and knee strikes will not be banned for the upcoming pay-per-view show.



Way to go, Lorenzo!

LEONARD
02-18-2009, 06:04 PM
Foot stomps? Are you fucking kidding me? BWAHAHAHAHAHA

THAT is all it took to make them happy??

Idiots...fucking idiots...

Evan
02-18-2009, 06:07 PM
This is a case of someone hearing about stuff and having no clue about reality.

LEONARD
02-18-2009, 06:15 PM
Exactly...some dumbass thought a foot stomp was the same as a stomp (ala Pride).

But in the end they still wanted foot stomps removed...unbelievable.

Why not ban flying gogoplatas too? They're used about as often as the foot stomp...

BigDaddyCool
02-27-2009, 07:40 PM
It is really stupid on Canada's part.... As everyone has already said.. they will just lose the business....

nate0409
03-01-2009, 08:22 AM
i really need to start getting into ufc a lil more... i dont know any of these guys fighting.. but after watching the spike even a week ago... it was awesome

Evan
03-01-2009, 11:08 AM
i really need to start getting into ufc a lil more... i dont know any of these guys fighting.. but after watching the spike even a week ago... it was awesome

Check out spike tv for frequent replay's and don't worry about who's who yet. It will all come together.

If you have any questions just ask someone here....everyone is very knowledgeable. Its surprising how many die hards are here.

desflood
03-14-2009, 12:42 PM
They've finalized the card. It's a good one.

Main Card Bouts:
-Anderson Silva (#1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Thales Leites
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (#5 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Chuck Liddell (#6 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk
-Luiz Cane vs. Steve Cantwell
-Brian Stann vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Preliminary Bouts:
-Nathan Quarry vs. Jason MacDonald
-Denis Kang vs. Xavier Fouka-Pokum
-David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman
-T.J. Grant vs. Ryo Chonan
-David Bielkheden vs. Mark Bocek
-Matt Wiman vs. Sam Stout
-Mike Ciesnolevicz vs Eliot Marshall

Evan
03-14-2009, 12:58 PM
-David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman
-Matt Wiman vs. Sam Stout
-Mike Ciesnolevicz vs Eliot Marshall

3 fights I have to see and I forgot all about the Crow coming back!!!! :ihit

Evan
03-14-2009, 12:59 PM
there is nothing I don't like about that card...can't wait

desflood
03-14-2009, 01:03 PM
Wiman irritates me; anyone egotistical enough to nickname himself "Handsome" automatically becomes "Un-handsome" by sheer narcissism.

TheTruth
03-14-2009, 02:49 PM
Excited to see Eliot Marshall. He really impressed me on TUF.

LEONARD
03-14-2009, 02:54 PM
MikeC will smash him :D

TheTruth
03-14-2009, 02:56 PM
MikeC will smash him :D

I like Marshall's chances if he can find a way to get it to the ground.

Evan
03-14-2009, 03:08 PM
Don't you ever damn diss my balding overlord again :nope

Evan
03-14-2009, 03:09 PM
seriously tho...very tough fight for both of them...this has serious ugly fight potential but I still want to see it. A lot of people including myself thought he was going to run away with TUF from the get go.

desflood
03-14-2009, 03:27 PM
Don't worry, Evan. Hair is overrated anyway.

djohn14
03-14-2009, 05:09 PM
Yeah I cant wait for The Crow!

Evan
03-17-2009, 09:44 PM
Leonard just sent me a text...Mike C is out....

My balding over lord needs my assistance...talk to you folks later