Judge Dismisses UFC's Lawsuit in New York

 

Judge Kimba Wood of the United States Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed a case brought on by Zuffa and other parties making a facial challenge to the constitutionality of New York's ban on professional sanctioned mixed martial arts.  Zuffa and the other parties involved including the named Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones argued that New York's ban on MMA is unconstitutional as there is no rational basis for such a ban.  In addition the parties alleged the law unconstitutional due to its vagueness.  Finally the plaintiffs allege injury in the matter.

The reasoning behind this dismissal and the judge's decision to grant summary judgment to the defendant rides on the plaintiff's standing.  Mainly, according to the Judge, the plaintiffs in the case have none.   Judge Kimbo in his opinion focused on three parties to the case:  Zuffa, LLC (parent company of the UFC); Don Lilly (fight promoter and a fighter manager); and Shanon Miller (fight promoter).  For each of these plaintiffs, the judge looked at the alleged injury caused by the law.  He found no injury to these parties because there is no guarantee that any of these promoters would have actually held events within the state.  

The judge asked the plaintiffs to state actual injuries, which he found none.  Plaintiffs cited theoretical injuries that have been incurred over time, but the judge disregarded these.  This seems like a blow to Zuffa, especially as the company had envisioned an event at Madison Square Garden by the end of the year.  

Although this is definitely a setback for the legalization of mixed martial arts in New York, Zuffa has ramped up its lobbying efforts to repeal the law, bringing superstars like Ronda Rousey to testify in Albany.  Early reports have been rumored to be favorable to this new course of action.  Governor Cuomo has also come out several times in favor of sanctioned professional mixed martial arts citing the lost economic opportunity that the ban creates in the state's coffers.

If you would like to read the full opinion the link is located down below.

http://www.mmamania.com/2015/4/1/8325051/rotten-apple-new-york-judge-dismisses-ufc-lawsuit-sought-to-legalize-mma

Bellator MMA files lawsuit against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to Prevent him from fighting at UFC 186

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is set to scrap with Light Heavy Weight power puncher Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 in Montreal, Quebec in April.  It would be Jackson's first fight in the UFC since he left the organization in June of 2013 for greener pastures.  On June 4, 2013 it was announced that Jackson had signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC's competitor Bellator MMA and the other Viacom owned property Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA Wrestling).

Jackson was set to headline the organization's first ever pay per view event against fellow former UFC veteran Tito Ortiz on November 2, 2013 at Bellator 106.  However, after Ortiz had to pullout due to injury the event was completely scrapped and was reformatted to air on Spike TV.  Ortiz was replaced with another UFC alumnus Joey Beltran and Jackson debuted for the organization at Bellator 108 where he won by technical knockout in the first round.    In total Jackson fought three times under the Bellator banner. And it appeared that Jackson was becoming one of the main faces of the organization.

However, rumors began to circulate late last year that Jackson and Bellator were not clicking.  Suddenly, on November 17th,  Jackson stated on his official twitter:

Just a thought.. But I've learned a big lesson in life and business: sometimes u should just stay with the devil u know @ufc

Suddenly the whole world began to speculate whether Jackson would be returning to the UFC.  Soon after it was announced that he would be returning to the UFC and that his first fight would be against Fabio Maldonado, but Jackson was still under contract for Bellator MMA with three fights remaining on his contract.  Several media outlets reached out to UFC President Dana White to inquire about Jackson's situation.  White said, that all would be sorted out.

Now a month out from the event, Bellator MMA has filed an injunction against Jackson because he is still under contract with the organization and in effect violating what I would assume is a non-complete or exclusivity clause.  Although I cannot speak to the details of the contract that Jackson signed it would be easy to assume that the contract would stipulate that Jackson had to fight for Bellator MMA exclusively.

If Bellator succeeds in getting the injunction it would be quite detrimental to both Jackson and the UFC which would have to find a replacement or scrap the entire fight depending on how quickly the court makes a decision.  Bellator may look towards damages as well for lack of performance of the contract, which may become very costly to Jackson as the legal bills begin to pile up.  There is also no information as to whether the Ultimate Fighting Championship or its parent company Zuffa LLC. will be assisting with this case.

Bellator MMA expands with TV Deals in Europe and Australia.

Bellator has continued its effort to become a global brand.  The Viacom owned company has secured a deal with multimedia company Electus International that will allow the promoter to be viewed in over 400 million homes and over 120 countries.  This deal begins to make Bellator look like a true competitor to ,mixed martial arts flagship, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Expansion into a new market will also grow the exposure not only of the Belator brand, but of the sport of mixed martial arts itself.  The immediate result, I can see is that countries will begin to accept cage fighting as it becomes more popular within those countries.  Just last week the French Judo Federation prohibited any Judo coaches from teaching MMA, and announcing harsh sanctions to those who defied the federation.

A concern is that mixed martial arts is beginning to permeate all traditional martial arts.  I myself can attest to this.  I started training when I was twelve in Shukokai Karate and from an early age I excelled in several tournaments, but after I saw my first UFC fight on tv which was Tito Ortiz v. Ken Shamrock II, I became obsessed. I found myself looking at videos of old fights and breaking them down and analyzing all the minute movements and techniques. In addition, I would watch hours and hours of footage from some of jiu-jitsu's great like Rickson and Royler.  What resulted was that I started to take some of these techniques and implement them into my sparring and karate classes, much to the chagrin of my Sensei.

In the past decade mixed martial arts academies have opened up like McDonald's franchises within the United States and I believe that this will begin to happen in countries where a vacuum is created due to this influx of interest in mixed martial arts.

Just this past month there was clear evidence of the growth of mixed martial arts in Europe when over 36,000 people from over 40 countries filled an arena in Sweden which had a main event that began at 3 a.m local time.  This attendance is only beat by UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre in Canada which squeezed 60,000 people into the arena.  Clearly there is a craving and a fan base for these promoters to exploit.  This expansion can only be viewed as a positive for not only Bellator MMA, but mixed martial arts as a whole.

UFC to Step in With more Out-of-Competition Random Testing

Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White, and Zuffa attorney Lawrence Epstein sat down for a press conference this Wednesday announcing new guidelines for PED testing after the wake of numerous positive tests.  The UFC announced that there was a problem in the sport and that testing needed to be more stringent in order to clean it up.  They also announced that a third party company would step in to conduct random out of competition testing in addition to the efforts already put forth by the various state athletic commissions as well as the commissions around the world, but declined to say who the third party would be.

The UFC also added that there would be much more stringent penalties to those who have positive tests for PEDs, which could range from 2-4 years suspension depending whether a fighter had tested positive in the past.  Lorenzo Fertita, the CEO and owner of Zuffa the parent company of the UFC said that "the current punishment on fighters is not enough to deter the use of PEDs."

UFC President, Dana White also stated that a fighter who weighs his or her options, evaluating the rewards gained from fighting over the risk of being caught are quite unbalanced with some fighters choosing the latter.He echoed that the new penalties would make fighters think twice as a prolongued suspension could be career ending. As a warning to fighters White stated, "If you are doing performance enhancing drugs, you will be caught."

When asked about the implications of main events being canceled, the UFC brass stated that they would take the risk in order to clean up the sport, stating that UFC match makers Sean Shelby and Joe Silva would have to get "more creative" (a job that has been essential after the strain of injuries that have decimated fight cards in the past).

Of course, the other issue is with commissions outside of the United States and how this effort could be implemented on a global scale as well as the costs associated with such an endeavor.  I would say that it is definitely ambitious and it will take some time to implement the program uniformly.  But this is not the first time the sport has met with adversity.  It is also not an issue of cheating either.  It is an issue of safety for all the athletes who compete within the UFC and all the other mixed martial arts promotions throughout the world.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Reportedly Forced the UFC to Replace Coach for TUF 4 Brazil

It was originally slated so that Mixed Martial Arts legends Anderson Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua would be the coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil.  Several news outlets have reported that this is no longer the case.  It appears that the UFC wanted to maintain Silva as a coach, despite the controversy swirling around his failed out-of-competition drug test (although yesterday it was reported that another test taken on January 19th came back clean).  BloodyElbow.com reported today that Silva will be replaced with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (another revered Brazilian fighter who had previously coached the show against Fabricio Werdum).

Looking at this from a business perspective, it is a huge blow to the UFC.  The Brazilian version of the Ultimate Fighter is broadcast on Globo, the country's most viewed network, which brought many new eyeballs to the sport.  The success of the UFC in the country may be due to the rich history of Brazilian athletes who have been successful in the Octagon.  Overall since the inception of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993, there have been 10 champions from Brazil.  None of course shone brighter than the former Middleweight champion Anderson Silva who since his debut in 2006 remained undefeated until July of 2013 where he lost his title to the current champion Chris Weidman.  

Brazilians took pride in the fact that their country was represented so well as its athletes began to dominate the UFC's divisions.  Currently, MMA and the UFC plays only second fiddle to the national sport of soccer.  Every event has sold out fairly quickly and the atmosphere and energy surrounding the sport is insane considering that the sport has been around for little over two decades.

It is understandable that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would make this request given that Silva has such a big name; his discipline, if it stands, will demonstrate to other fighters the consequences of their actions.  Now that these tests are becoming more and more stringent it will be interesting to see who else is going to get popped for PEDs and how promoters will now have to adapt when entire fight cards are endangered by the actions of one or more fighters.

Jon Jones enters Rehab

I know its been a while since I have written anything, but this subject I felt that I had to give my opinion.  Jones has been the poster boy for the UFC.  He was the first sponsored by its apparel brand.  In addition, he was featured in many of the UFC's main sponsors, including Bud Light.  This is no surprise as he seemed like an individual he lived the martial arts lifestyle.  He was a father of two who came from humble beginnings and he impressed from his first fight on.  Jones was incredible, he was a tall fighter who knew how to use these advantages well.  He became champion at 23 (the youngest in the organization's history). He was even deemed a hero when he stopped a mugging in Paterson, NJ before he fought Mauricio "shogun" Rua for the title at UFC 128. His demeanor was pleasant and his treatment of the media made him an excellent candidate to increase the organization's appeal to cross over into the mainstream and gather more eye balls to the screen.  Jones along with Ronda Rousey have became the main models of the UFC's new endorsement deal with Reebok.

However, Jones mystique began to fade away with his DUI in 2012 when he crashed his Bentley.  Many fighters, have also called him "fake," saying that his on air personality was different from when he was off the record.  However, this is understandable as we all wear many hats and many of us have to adapt to our surroundings.  From a business perspective, it seems like a great strategy in order to become a fan favorite and to gain the favor of many sponsors.  His stock was going to continue to rise after the weekends bout against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182.  He now seems invincible and many are calling him the GOAT and the greatest pound for pound fighter.

Jones' announcement that he was going to be entering rehab came as a shock to most of the martial arts community.  He issued a public apology to his family and fans.  Dana White, president of the UFC, also issued a statement saying how proud he was that he had made this decision.  Reports are that Jones tested for cocaine metabolites in early December which was administered out of competition by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.  Because it was out of competition, there are no penalties associated by the commission for a positive test.  Now this has stirred up quite a controversy.  On one side there are people who are supportive of Jones' decision and wish him the best and on the other are those who feel that he is receiving special treatment because of his position.

My take on this is that the UFC sets a concerning precedent if it does not take disciplinary action on its champion.  The champion is the representative of the organization and thus is the best of that division and he or she must abide by the code of conduct as an example to other fighters in the organization.  Other fighters have pointed out what they claim is the UFC's hypocrisy in this matter, citing that other fighters like Matt Riddle and Nick Diaz received lengthy suspensions due to testing positive for marijuana metabolites.  However, these were tests done right before or after their bouts.  Now the results of this past Saturday are still in the air.  If Jones does test for a banned substance it would be interesting if his victory becomes a No Contest and forces the UFC to strip him of his title.

The other issue that was brought up yesterday and is fueling the ire of conspiracy theorists, is the convenience of timing in which the UFC announced that it would no longer do out of competition random testing on its fighters, citing the massive errors that were committed by the organization in handling of samples from Cung Le in last year's event in Macau.  And many forums are rampant with people speculating on whether the UFC  hid the fact in order for the main event to continue; instead of cancelling the Main Event which would have deeply hurt the organization as it was trying to rebound after a shaky 2014 where it saw its rating downgraded by Standard and Poors.  Especially since the UFC has confirmed that there were over 750,000 pay-per-view buys.

I can't opine as to this theory as it is mere speculation, although if something happened to the main event it would have certainly hurt those numbers.  Fighters with substance abuse issues is nothing new,  former heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez also struggled with addiction.  Hopefully, Jones can get the help he needs and continue to demonstrate his skills in the cage and the UFC can maintain the momentum of its first event of the year despite this setback.

Sport Betting will Increase legitimacy of Sport

New Jersey has recently passed a law which would allow race tracks and casinos to make bets on National Football League matches as well as other sports.  However, New Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak, a sponsor on the bill, has yet to be able to place a bet as a Federal Judge has enjoined NJ from implementing the law as a response to a suit that several leagues have levied against New Jersey's Law.  Their primary complaint is that the allowance of sports gambling would lead to higher occurrences of match fixing.

This is certainly a concern as match fixing allegations have arisen in European soccer league, which at this point have prevented clubs like Fenerbahce from participating in Europe's top flight soccer league, the Champion's League.  Several referees from the German Bundesliga have been convicted of match fixing.  Most recently C.J. Ross, a judge for Nevada State Athletic Commission resigned her position after public outcry alleging dubious judging for Floyd Mayweather's title defense against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in September of last year.  However, these instances are few.  In addition, a well regulated betting system would allow police as well as administrators to observe betting trends and gaming activity to discern if there is any impropriety as to the bets being placed at a sportsbook.

The system would also allow more funds to flow into the pockets of the participating leagues as well as the coffers of many struggling casinos.  The Fertita Brothers who are the owners of Station Casinos as well as the Ultimate Fighting Championship's parent company Zuffa,Inc, have come out in support of efforts like NJ's, stating that it would "legitimize the sport." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has joined to support the legalization of sports gambling in the United States.

"In light of these domestic and global trends, the laws on sports betting should be changed," Silver wrote. "Congress should adopt a federal framework that allows states to authorize betting on professional sports, subject to strict regulatory requirements and technological safeguards."- Silver's Op-ED NY Times. Nov. 13, 2014

With the ever increasing demand to legalize sports gambling in more states and figures like Silver supporting efforts like NJ's, will we see a change in federal law that would create a system like the UK or Australia where it is highly regulated?

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