China MMA…reasons to be concerned!

Welcome to the Wild Wild West…ergh…I mean…the REALLY FAR EAST?

Brian just got back from Beijing China.  He competed for a ‘startup’ promoter–meaning someone who has never done a professional Mixed Martial Arts event before.

…Contracted to face a National Sanda Champion…Brian was informed via contract that the fight would be 3 rounds of 5 minutes with ‘Unified’ Rules. Since  the majority of the Chinese MMA fighters in the region are still developing their BJJ game—the promoter amended one rule…only allowing for 10 seconds of action once the bout hit the floor.

***What the Contract didn’t say***

—No matter what rules you agreed to  in your contract—when the Chinese National Sanda Champion is fighting you–it doesn’t matter.

Unified rules…means no face stomps or soccer kicks to the  head of a downed opponent—anyone with 3 or more points on touching the floor.

During the first clip of the fight–Brian was face stomped 3 times—and then soccer kicked.  His body went limp—and the ref never touched the Chinese national Sanda Champion.  Nevermind the fact those strikes ARE ILLEGAL IN UNIFIED MMA. A fighter blatantly disregarding these rules is committing an assault–this is not a sport at the point the rules go out the window.  In the good ol’ US of A…a fighter probably would have been arrested by the police backstage for this type of buffoonery.

Instead of Disqualifying the fighter on the spot–>the ref told Brian that if he was unable to continue–>despite the fact that the Chinese National Sanda Champion punted him in the head 4 times—>he would lose via KO.

***Wanting to fight to the death***—>Brian agreed to take a sip of water and restart the fight.  Still rocked from the concussive strike landed when he was soccer kicked—>the Chinese National Sanda Champion was able to drop Brian with punches…SHOCKINGLY…Immediately after it was explained to him that kicking the head of a downed opponent was illegal—>HE DOES IT TWO MORE TIMES!!! (One caught on tape—the other thrown after the Camera was dropped in Shock)

…This is how people get killed.  It’s not a matter of the rules being broken—as much as it is a matter of the ref and judges negligence towards fighter safety.  Brian suffered a minimum of 7 stomps/kicks to the head…losing consciousness and suffering a grade 3 concussion.  His reward after his opponent committed an assault–1,500USD and a free trip to China.

It is the Ref/Judges/Sanctioning Body responsibility to protect the fighters safety.

I can just imagine the ‘Press’…“Amurikan cagefighter killed in China after repeated soccer kicks to the head’...Ummm…No Thanks!  I don’t need to be on Fox News anytime…we all know they are looking for news now that the Child killer’s trial is over.

It’s refreshing to see new promotions in the region with a professional approach towards fighter safety.  This Thursday in Singapore is the One FC press conference—Legends FC is holding an event in Macau China—and DARE FC just recently held a successful event in Bangkok…What each of these promoters have had in common…fighters safety.  Required medicals (like HIV and HEP tests)–as well as sufficiently educated supervisors (judges, refs, etc)

….The fact that so many shady promoters are looking to ‘jump onto the MMA Craze’—only means one thing…MMA is finally arriving in Asia!!!

Now it’s a matter of working with the quality promoters–who are looking to pioneer the sport within Southeast Asia and watch it grow in the region.  Another death in the region (similar to what occured in Neofight Korea)—would be catastrophic to the growth of MMA in Asia.

…Gyms–and fighters–need to be aware of the risks of competing on this small rural promotions. Moving forward Tiger Muay Thai will only associate with matchmakers and organizations that are beneficial to the growth and promotion of MMA in the region.  Promoters who are only looking at the quick turnaround on profit…at the expense of the fighter….feel free to contact one of  ‘the other gyms’ teaching MMA.