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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=221826" target="_blank">
UFC 115 faces obstacles in Vancouver
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<a href="/go=news.detail&gid=221826" ><img class="photo" src="http://img.mixedmartialarts.com/method=get&rs=80&q=75&x=10&y=101&w=310&h=165&ro=0&s=69CD6897-1D09-6BFC-E54411BDB4BA5EE6.jpg" /></a>
<strong class="ArticleSource">[paullazenby.com]</strong>
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<p><em>"Every day when I wake up, I know bad shit is going to happen"</em><br />
Dana White
ROCKY ROAD TOWARD UFC 115
It's 10:40 PM on Tuesday, March 2 and I just got home from a meeting of the Vancouver Athletic Commission, on whose guest list I was joined by North Vancouver Athletic Commission Chair Mike Pattenaude, and Assistant Director of Vancouver's Licenses and Animal Control division Tom Hammel. I was there to inquire about obtaining a professional MMA promoter's license on behalf of the Score Fighting Series, as well as to check on the status of the upcoming UFC event scheduled to be held at Vancouver's GM Place. To say that the meeting was a sobering affair would be understatement writ large.
In spite of Vancouver City Council's approval of a two-year trial period for MMA, I found out that there are still no regulations in place to promote the sport professionally within the city. The problem lies in the fact that the city is still expressing grave concerns about legal and financial liability, while movement toward a resolution of those concerns appears to have been extremely sluggish.
At one point, newly-elected VAC chair Mirko Mladenovic (a supporter of properly-sanctioned MMA) asked Mr. Hammel when the legal issues might be resolved, to which Mr. Hammel replied, "About two months" in a manner that indicated to me that it may be even longer. Paradoxically, Mr. Hammel also said that an MMA event could technically be held at Vancouver's PNE Fairgrounds, which have previously hosted major events by bodogFIGHT and Elite Fighting Championships, but added that such an event would be subject to the approval of the PNE board. That's an apparent dead-end, since that board has already issued flat refusals to Edmontion's Maximum Fighting Championships and eastern Canada's Elite-1, stating that they have no desire to host any MMA event on their premises. Hearing all that I damn near stopped breathing, since it would mean that unless something changes, and quickly, then our UFC event is already dead in the water.
I don't want to run around like Chicken Little screaming about the sky falling just yet, so for now I'm just going to hope that things start moving behind the scenes to expedite a return of pro MMA to a city that Olympic debt has left in dire need of new revenue sources. Otherwise, we may just lose the biggest MMA happening in Vancouver history, along with the badly-needed cash injection that goes with it.
Paul Lazenby is Vancouver resident, retired pro fighter and relenteless advocate for Mised Martial Arts.
