MMA fans ‘in disbelief’

A Port Kennedy mixed martial arts gym owner believes the imminent decision to ban cages for competitive bouts will “water down” the sport.

The State Government’s cage ban will come into force last Friday, with the last bouts inside a cage taking place at the WA Italian Club last week.

Participants will be able to train within the closure, but organisers that host cage bouts face up to a $12,000 fine and cancellation of their registration with the Combat Sports Commission.

David Johnson, of Strike MMA, said enthusiasts were still “in disbelief ” about the ban.

“There will still be opportunities for fighters because they can fly over to the east coast or overseas to compete in the cage,” he said. “UFC’s popularity is growing. It isn’t going to affect fighters too much, but it will have an impact at amateur level.

“It means guys will just have to compete in a ring, but there’s still cages in gyms meaning that people can train and spar in a safe environment.”

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association WA and the UFC have continued to trade blows about the enclosure.

UFC Australia operations director Tom Wright held a forum in Perth last week, which he claims was snubbed by the AMA.

“(The) forum was a great opportunity to review the importance of consistent regulatory oversight and the establishment of minimum safety and health standards for the sport of mixed martial arts, not only in Western Australia but across the entire country,” he told the Telegraph.

“Originally, someone from the AMA had confirmed their attendance at the forum and I was encouraged by the prospect of having an informed and fact-based discussion regarding the importance of health and safety and the precautions that we, and all similar sport organisations, should ascribe to.

Unfortunately, the AMA elected not to send a representative, so the forum was left without the benefit of an open discussion.”

AMA WA president Richard Choong said no agreement had been made to supply a representative for the function due to its mid-morning time and a lack of advance warning.

“We would never back away from strongly supporting our views and our opposition to this barbaric activity,” the Port Kennedy-based GP said.