I posted the video of Dana White speaking about the state of amateur MMA, and wanted to touch on a couple of things. I know we have several amateur fighters that post here on the site, and I've LOVE for you guys to chime in with your own experiences and insight Dana White speaks on the safety element of amateur MMA:
Guy gets knocked out, he's not on 60 or 90 day suspension. He can [expletive] fight again next weekend. That's amateur MMA? You would think they would look out even more for the amateurs. It is a zillion times safer to be a professional.
He makes an excellent point here. I know here in North Carolina there are tons of shows happening all the time, some sanctioned and some unsanctioned events happen on the reservations in the western part of the state. It would be relatively easy for a fighter to get knocked out, and then find a show to fight on the next week or so. This state is wide as hell! That is unless the promoters actively seek to find out if and when that fighter fought last etc. I'm not sure if that happens, and if it does, how often it happens. I know fighters that post here on the site talk about last minute switches in opponents, wild weigh-in's, and a host of other stuff that happens on the amateur level. Here Dana speaks on the promoters, and what amateur MMA should be:
Amateur fighting should never be about profit...ever. It should be about safety of the athletes and teaching these athletes how to become professionals.
I agree it shouldn't be about profit. According to White, he wants the amateur program to be ran by the U.S. Olympic Committee. I don't know if that will ever happen. It would be great if it would, but until then you need these local promoters to put on these amateur events. There is no UFC without these amateur events in my opinion. However, on the flip side of that, you can't expect these local promoters to go out and do all the work it requires to put on a good local show for free either. So until the amateur system is worked out, it'll be up to the fighters to weed out the snakes and slimballs that are into amateur MMA for the wrong reasons. It doesn't take long for a promoter to catch a bad rap if they don't do what they are supposed to do.
Dana is quick to point out that he doesn't believe it's his job to get involved with amateur MMA. It may not be directly, but he'd be a fool if he doesn't realize he could have a huge influence. If it's not his job, then who's job is it?
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