Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Georges St. Pierre have become some of the biggest names in sports, while local fighters like Mitch Clarke and Charmaine Tweet are trying to carve out great legacies of their own. More fighters like them could be waiting in the wings, and Saskatchewan may open the door.
On March 10, the provincial government announced that the Athletics Commission of Saskatchewan will sanction professional events for MMA, boxing, Muay Thai, full-contact Karate and kickboxing in the province. According to Parks, Culture and Sport Deputy Minister Scott Brown, the commission is expected to be fully operational and accepting promoter and fighter applications in April. The organization will work with an advisory group comprised of industry experts. Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Mark Docherty said the governing body will “ensure that we have a consistent set of rules, regulations and safety protocols for participants and officials across the province.”
Brown said the Commission took inspiration from regulation models in other provinces and the United States. The province used to house MMA events before experts in the community butted heads over regulations and liability concerns.
Nolan Coller, head instructor of the Northwest Brazilian Jujitsu Academy, feels that Saskatchewan must rethink its organizational structure before events are held in the province. He sees a lot of tension in the MMA scene that involves the Saskatchewan Martial Arts Association.
He said the amateur scene is suffering because those who aren’t members of the SMAA cannot participate in their events, which means that students outside the SMAA umbrella won’t get the necessary experience from amateur bouts. As a result, Coller sees a schism emerging between the SMAA and members of the MMA community who disagree with the current amateur regulations.
Although the UFC may hold rare events in Saskatchewan, Coller doesn’t see MMA growing in the province until amateur MMA regulations are revised.
“If there’s nowhere to fight amateur, how are these guys even getting the amateur bouts they need in the first place? Without the amateurs, there is no pro. If there is no pro, there is no UFC. It needs to be complete,” he said.
While instructors like Coller have concern, others are excited by the prospect of professional MMA coming to Saskatchewan. The news is more than welcome news to local competitors like Fiona Duffy, who went through five years of gruelling training before beginning her Muay Thai career. It lasted one year however, before the MMA scene died down.
Duffy’s last fight was in June 2014, and a province of fighters has been asking themselves “What now?” for the better part of a year. Getting fights out of province proves to be a challenge because local promoters must cover the costs of transport and lodgings for outside competitors.
“This past month, there were four fighters from our gym that were entered in for fights in Calgary, and zero out of four of us ended up actually even getting a match down there,” she said.
“We have a lot of people in MMA who have gone on to fight professionally, but they’ve had to do it out of province,” she said.
The UFC has already dipped its toe in prairie markets, holding events in Calgary and Winnipeg. The former drew over 14,000 fans and a $3 million gate; the latter drew over 16,000 fans and $4.1 million. Last year the organization’s promotional “UFC Experience Tour” came through Regina to a positive reception.
Former Regina mayor and vice-president of the Regina Boxing Club Pat Fiacco sees MMA as a cultural benefit with fans able to attend local events, while the economy would benefit from fans from across the country coming to the province for events.
Although provincial boxing and MMA figures like Fiacco were consulted on regulations, there’s only so much that can be done on the municipal level.
“It’s in the [Saskatchewan government’s] hands,” he said.
With these new regulations comes the opportunity for large scale fight cards to come to Regina.
“Ultimately, the prize would be to be able host a UFC event, so I think there’s a great opportunity for that,” Fiacco said.
