Issue 085
February 2012
In Japan, amateur scrappers must have a number of fights and in some cases pass a written test to turn pro. Not so in Western MMA where a novice fighter can battle under full professional rules without any amateur experience...
SHOULD AMATEUR FIGHTERS IN THE WEST EARN A PRO LICENSE AS THEY DO IN JAPAN?
YES
Michael Schiavello, Metaphor-spitting Dream, BAMMA and K-1 commentator
Amateurs should definitely have a certain number of fights before turning professional. I don’t want to see guys who have zero fights making their professional debut; they should go through amateurs first. It’s safer for the sport, first of all; it’s going to guarantee better professional fights, second of all; and it’s going to make the sport a whole lot better. I mean, it happens in other fight sports. You don’t go into kickboxing being professional, you don’t go straight into boxing being professional, so why should mixed martial arts be any different? Plus you’re earning money once you’re pro and you have to justify that money you’re earning so you definitely have to do your dues in the amateurs. As regards to the written test fighters have to take in Shooto before becoming a professional, I don’t necessarily agree with using that in the West. I don’t think you can test a fighter on paper, but you should have some amateur fights in your background before you switch to professional. It’s a completely different league once it’s pro.
NO
Joe Martinez, Former WEC announcer now with BAMMA and Golden Boy
Should Western amateurs take tests to become pro fighters? No, they shouldn’t. I don’t think that’s necessary. I mean, if you know how to fight, you know how to fight. Sometimes these guys are doing it for a reason as well – for some it’s a means to survive and if they’re not book-smart or able to take tests well, those guys suffer. Those barriers to entry would be unfair. Plus, it would cause a problem to set up licensing at this point in the West, where it’s not already ingrained in the system of smaller independent and amateur-based promotions – unlike in Japan where it’s been established in the structure of Shooto and Pancrase for years. Having these roadblocks before turning professional would definitely dampen the sport. Mixed martial arts is still growing so rapidly, and perhaps enforcing a process like this would stunt that. It would oppose the growth of the sport instead of helping it to expand and that’s not what MMA needs right now.
What you had to say on the matter ...
“No. Let’s face it, there’s a fair few fighters out there just fighting for money. Allow them to turn pro when they want.”
@PRINGLE144
“Yes, they should have a minimum amount of amateur or semi-pro bouts to be allowed. I saw that some 1-1 ‘pro’ had a title shot last week!”
@DANDONOVANMMA
“Sure, why not make them prove they have what it takes to play with the big boys?”
@AMYMARIESANTEE
“I believe they should do for safety reasons. You see some bums fighting who shouldn’t for their own health. As a fighter I would like to.”
@JRILEY_FU
