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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=202259" target="_blank">
MMA trial run in Vancouver
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<a href="/go=news.detail&gid=202259" ><img class="photo" src="http://img.mixedmartialarts.com/method=get&rs=100&q=75&x=67&y=158&w=310&h=165&ro=0&s=69CD6897-1D09-6BFC-E54411BDB4BA5EE6.jpg" /></a>
<strong class="ArticleSource">[ctvbc.ctv.ca]</strong>
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<p>Mixed martial arts -- also known as ultimate fighting -- is considered one of the fastest growing sports in the world.<br />
But the combination of jiu jitsu, wrestling and kickboxing is banned in many cities, including Vancouver, because it is deemed too violent.
But that could change after Friday night with an event that's being described as a test case for the sport.
Promoter Trevor Dueck has been granted a one-time special-event permit for an amateur fight Friday at the Edgewater Casino at the Plaza of Nations.
"It's a real sport. I think that's what we want to show them. It's not human cock fighting or anything of that matter, it's just like boxing. In some ways, it could be safer than boxing," he told CTV News.
"We want them to have a good time show that the stigma attached to MMA that's around this province or in Canada isn't true."
In B.C., mixed martial arts regulations are left to municipalities. While cities like Victoria and Prince George have allowed it, Vancouver has not.
City councillors and the Vancouver Athletic Commission will be watching closely.
If the test fight goes well, MMA could soon be regulated in Vancouver.
That's good news for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which has tentatively booked General Motors Place for a title fight in June, featuring current UFC champion Georges St. Pierre.
But some worry the violence won't stop when the fight ends.
"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," said Councillor David Cadman.
At a mixed martial arts event on the Musqueam Reserve last year, a 25-year-old contestant was shot in the leg. He was standing outside a community centre when he was hit.
Police said at the time that the shot came from someone in a crowd of males who later escaped in a vehicle.
A report from Vancouver city staff on how to regulate mixed martial arts is expected in the next few weeks.
Please for the love of god if anybody is going behave yourselves! Don't act like a fucking low life skid and prove all the brain dead government officials right. Its been an uphill battle to even get this small show up and going. So if you are a true fan then act like it so we can get the bigger shows.
But if you do end up getting rowdy, then go at least a mile away and fuck shit up!
There was a better article about this by Terry Bell in The Province (newspaper) about 10-12 days ago or so.
There have been pro MMA events in and around Vancouver before, but the current city council is comprised largely of a group of extremely ignorant individuals who banned the sport.
DCortez - Mixed martial arts -- also known as ultimate fighting.......since when is this true!?
About 15 years. The UFC has achieved what Marketing experts call Total Brand Identification. I's like when you ask for a Kleenex. You aren't really asking for only the brand Kleenex, you're asking for any tissue.
DCortez - Mixed martial arts -- also known as ultimate fighting.......since when is this true!? Fckn journalist who dnt know shit!
technically he's correct. What are you upset about? MMA is also known as ultimate fighting to a large percentage of the population. He didn't say it was the correct name, he just said it was also known as. Kevin Ferguson, also known as Kimbo Slice, yada yada yada. It's not his correct name but it's what he is known as.
DCortez - Mixed martial arts -- also known as ultimate fighting.......since when is this true!? Fckn journalist who dnt know shit!
Since always. You just don't know what also known as means. To some people it is known as Mixed Martial Arts. Other people won't know what you mean when you say that, but if you say Ultimate Fighting they will know it, hence to them it is known as Ultimate Fighting. There's usually a split in the people in that people who know it as Mixed Martial Arts actually watch it while people who know it as Ultimate Fighting might see it on TV once in a while when they're having dinner at a sports bar. And, I'm probably wasting my time on you anyway...
MMARising - There was a better article about this by Terry Bell in The Province (newspaper) about 10-12 days ago or so.
There have been pro MMA events in and around Vancouver before, but the current city council is comprised largely of a group of extremely ignorant individuals who banned the sport.
Boxing has been allowed the entire time, though.
This isn't accurate. MMA fans are getting their panties in a twist. The councilors said that they really don't know anything about it and are therefore erring on the side of caution. You really wouldn't want people who aren't familiar with the sport regulating it, and they deserve credit for recognising that. MMA would also have a much better chance of making it somewhere if fans would take a more measured approach to situations like this instead of spouting vitriol.
DCortez - Mixed martial arts -- also known as ultimate fighting.......since when is this true!?
About 15 years. The UFC has achieved what Marketing experts call Total Brand Identification. I's like when you ask for a Kleenex. You aren't really asking for only the brand Kleenex, you're asking for any tissue.
That is what it is commonly known as.
lol cortez, you just got owned and if you thought about it, you would have known yourself. "AKA" can very much refer to what people generally call it.
laqueus - This isn't accurate. MMA fans are getting their panties in a twist. The councilors said that they really don't know anything about it and are therefore erring on the side of caution. You really wouldn't want people who aren't familiar with the sport regulating it, and they deserve credit for recognising that. MMA would also have a much better chance of making it somewhere if fans would take a more measured approach to situations like this instead of spouting vitriol.
Actually, I've read interviews with three (possibly four, I forget) of the city councillors, who spent most of their time talking about how it was a barbaric sport and how it wasn't suitable for the city. This was then reinforced by reader comments (all of which were mind-numbingly ignorant) about how MMA will corrupt their children and they "didn't want that in their neighbourhoods."
This is all despite the fact that MMA events have already taken place in and around the city in the past and that the ever-increasing drug and gang problems are the real things plaguing the city.
The position that you're referencing is what a few city councillors have stated very recently, but their tune has changed drastically from six months ago and beyond. They've gone from bashing the sport with ignorant comments to basically admitting to the fact that few, if any, of them have any idea what they're talking about.
I actually covered the sanctioning of MMA in my area (I was a TV reporter at the time.) Just be glad the guy even used the term mixed martial arts. My producer called it 'a euphemism,' and insisted I refer to it only as 'cage fighting' or 'extreme fighting.' The compromise we settled on was almost exactly the same as "Mixed martial arts -- also known as ultimate fighting."
For the most part, after sanctioning and one or two successful, safe events, the media loses interest. From that point, MMA stories either become simply sports stories, or drop off the radar altogether. In my market, one station now only covers MMA as a sport, the other only covers it as 'news' (if a fighter gets arrested for something or there is trouble at an event. They went whole-hog sensational over a rule change allowing elbow - 'now bloodier than ever!')
Hmmm.... I find this "one time special event" permit very interesting. MMA was first scanctioned within greater Vancouver in 2002 after a TON of effort by David Lea! He promoted 2 excellent events at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Vancouver. After a handfull of well run and SAFE events over the next few years, the commission deamed the sport a "health risk" to the athletes.
Why now after over two years of complete and utter refusal to accept mma within the city limits are they granting these "one time" permits?
BustamanteFan - Hmmm.... I find this "one time special event" permit very interesting. MMA was first scanctioned within greater Vancouver in 2002 after a TON of effort by David Lea! He promoted 2 excellent events at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Vancouver. After a handfull of well run and SAFE events over the next few years, the commission deamed the sport a "health risk" to the athletes.
Why now after over two years of complete and utter refusal to accept mma within the city limits are they granting these "one time" permits?
I'll give you one guess, and it rhymes with "MONEY". Complain about Dana all you want, but he isn't shy about shelling out the dough to get the sport legitimized all over the world. Just for perspective, the money spent on lobbying cough bribes cough probably exceeds the total fighter payroll of the entire UFC by a good margin. There are a LOT of hands out, they all expect to be payed, and show ain't happening without them. Being a politician can be a lot more lucrative than being a fighter.
I love the special "One Time Permit". It means they get to shake you down all over again next time.