Issue 097

January 2013

The future of the sport looks bright, but the amateur code needs rules and direction to truly flourish

Mario Yamasaki

?An MMA referee for 12 years, Mario has black belts in judo and BJJ. Each issue he discusses the hottest topics in the sport through the eyes of an official

When most people think of mixed martial arts they immediately think of the UFC. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a promotion with a single focus on top-tier professional MMA fighters: the best of the best. However, if you are a fan of MMA and you don’t just watch the UFC then chances are you may have been exposed to amateur MMA. Especially if you have attended any local MMA events in your area.

Several years ago, amateur MMA wasn’t that big, but it’s growing rapidly. Amateur sports are designed so that athletes receive no remuneration. From a promoter’s point of view this can offset the costs of running an event substantially. The majority of costs that go into any show involve those surrounding the athletes’ wages. 

Pro-am cards are becoming increasingly popular. These are shows where there’s a mix of both professional and amateur fights. In this scenario the promoter only has to pay for a couple of pro fighters, which usually become the headline draw. The amateur fights are used as filler fights, generally at the start of the show.

The one drawback with amateur MMA is that sometimes the quality of the fighters is suspect. Fighters do not always come from a trained background with coaches interested in developing their careers as athletes. In these cases ‘fighters’ are sometimes thrown into the cage without any real training and it becomes nothing more than a toughman contest. 

From a fan point of view, especially fans used to seeing top athletes in organizations like the UFC, any comparison naturally brings disappointment. Therefore, for amateur MMA to succeed, fighter development must be one of the primary factors.

The biggest issue, however, is the lack of a defined world organization to govern amateur MMA. In North America there are literally dozens of amateur organizations all vying for a piece of the amateur sanctioning pie. Each has their own rules and philosophies when it comes to how they sanction amateur MMA.

Earlier this year, in Sweden, the International MMA Federation (IMMAF) was launched at a UFC on Fuel TV event, and it has the backing of UFC officials. Perhaps it will grow to become the governing body the sport so desperately needs. But it is still locked down developing the amateur rule-set, and the longer it takes the more dysfunctional the amateur side of the sport becomes.

Last year, the ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions) attempted to produce a set of amateur MMA rules. A committee with notable and experienced MMA commissioners, including Jeff Mullen, Andy Foster, Nick Lembo and Dale Kliparchuk designed a rule-set to be the standard for all commissions worldwide. It was a good document and it has my full support. But whether it’s adopted by all – including the IMMAF – is yet to be seen.

Some commissions now mandate that if you are starting out as an official (referee or judge) you have to officiate a certain amount of time in the amateur ranks.

In theory, this a good philosophy. However, the truth is commissions still lack qualified personnel to assess whether the officials are actually doing a good job or not. If you are making poor decisions as a referee in 200 amateur bouts, without getting any correction, then by the time you start to referee professional bouts those bad habits will be thoroughly ingrained.

Also, by having only rookie officials work the amateur code, it conveys an appearance that amateur fighters are regarded as second rate and don’t require the same level of officiating required by professionals. Where, in truth, refereeing amateur bouts can be more of a problem because athletes are often unfamiliar with the rules.

It’s clear, then, that amateur MMA still has a very long road to travel before we see it under the Olympic rings. One thing we can be sure about is, with amateur MMA growing rapidly, it’s a sure sign the future of MMA looks bright.