- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Herewith, an open letter I have mailed to Premier John Brumby and James Marlino to have the Cage Fighting ban lifted. Unfortunately, the letter was met with no response.
At the end of 2007, the Honourable James Marlino released a statement in which full contact fighting within the perimeters of a ‘cage’ was made illegal through out Victoria. I believe that this decision was made without a thorough investigation into the sport, its regulations and the rules around full contact mixed martial arts.
With that said, the sport has also come a long way in effort to professionalise and regulate its code of conduct.
In Australia there are various institutions governing MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), with fighters engaging in boxing rings, Octagons, and in some instances ‘Cages’.
As you might not know, the term ‘cage’ in Cage Fighting does not strictly refer to fighters in blocked off cages, as you would see in, say, wresting in the US, but rather a contained area, with the top of the ‘cage’ open, and a referee in the ring.
Although the area in which the fighters battle differ from one institution to the next, the rules of engagement are tightly regulated, and the ‘cage’ itself is more for spectator value, as you would agree watching wrestling cage matches.
Banning ‘cage fighting’ has a flow on effect on the industry in Victoria: fighters move to other states, thus promoters move, and the funding follows.
Banning the sport in principle not only does damage to Victoria and Melbourne’s claim of being the sporting capital, it also eliminates a revenue stream for the Government, and sporting institutions around the state.
In NSW, for instance, the sport has had a strong following, and this in turn allows the international sensation UFC to stage it’s first ever event down under in Sydney on February 21, 2010.
The tickets to the event sold out in hours, and spectators from all over Australia (and internationally) will fly to Sydney to see the fights live, or order it on pay per view. This generates hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue for the brand, the event management, and NSW.
One of the headline fighters on the UFC card was born and bred in Victoria, and I’m sure nothing would have made George Sotiropoulos more happy than to fight out of his own state.
Let’s take this opportunity to review the ban, and in doing so, allow Vic Sports to get involved, regulate the sport, and create awareness of the sport in Victoria. We plant the seed, and in doing so MMA will have a stronger presence in Victoria, and UFC will consider the sporting capital as a prime candidate for its next tour down under.
Please take this letter as a motivation to review the ban, and possibly the restrictions around the sport in Victoria.
What’s your best bet? For great odds on all your favourite sports check out PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.