Today's meeting was held in the small conference room down the hall from the Department of Public Health Offices at 1 Ashburton Place, Boston MA. The following quorum conducted the meeting; Jen Cobis (Administrative Assistant II), Ronnie Drimer (Program Coordinator), Gary Litchfield (Commissioner), Joseph Esposito (Commissioner), Joseph Krowski Jr. (Commissioner), Todd Grossman (Commissioner)
Also present were Artie Mullen (Pro MMA Fighter), John Downey (Pro MMA Fighter), Linda Shields (CFX Promoter), Gary Foreman (CFX Matchmaker), Jesse Camp (Warrior Nation Xtreme Fighters Alliance Promoter/ Matchmaker), Ryan Parker (Deputy Commissioner), and myself.
The room was to small for everyone to sit so myself, Jesse Camp, Gary Foreman, and John Downey stood for several hours. I am sure if a few more people had been present they would have moved the meeting to a larger room somewhere on the floor. Don't let small rooms deter you from attending these meetings. They most certainly are worth the trouble. The Agenda for today's meeting:
1. Review/Approve Minutes from July 12, 2012 and August 2, 2012
This is a standard practice in meetings convened following this format. Pretty boring stuff as the board members review the notes taken for the meeting prior to this one. Usually these are accepted and the meeting progresses. This was the case today.
2. Review suspension List from July 27, 2012, August 3, 2012
July 27th List (Cage Titans Prevail)
- Asi-Yahola Somburu (Doomsday) Mandatory 30days due to TKO
- Matt Haney (SSSF) Mandatory 60days and will require a clearance from his PCP
- Garrett Moldoff (Death Roll) Mandatory 30days due to TKO
- Ricardo Georges (Team Pradal Serey) Doctor Recommended 90days
*Note: The commissioners agreed that Ricky can fight sooner if he felt up to it and his superficial wounds had healed before the 90 day period. Of course they would need a doctors note along with an official appeal. Heal fast my young friend. You have work to do still. - Aniss El Hajjajy (Team Pradal Serey) 30days
- Walter Rodriguez (Lions Den) Indefinite until he has his Right hand X-rayed, the X-ray images have to be submitted to the commission for them to submit to the recommending physician who was in attendance at the Premier Event. The physician will then have to confirm Walter's injuries are not detrimental to his return to the cage. Good luck Walter I'm sure it felt awesome to finally have your hand raised for a true MMA victory. A word of advice, "Only hit soft people in the face."
- Josue Lopez (Gladiador BJJ) Indefinite until he has his hand X-rayed, the X-ray images have to be submitted to the commission for them to submit to the recommending physician who was in attendance at the Premier Event. The physician will then have to confirm Walter's injuries are not detrimental to his return to the cage. Again I wish this fighter luck. Josue is the Boxing Coach for his Gladiador BJJ family and an incredible fighter. Can't wait to see him healed and ready for the next victory. Osssu...
- *There is a third name that I must have missed from this event. It is a 30day suspension. I will find out who and amend this to be accurate.
eing late to Weigh-in April 19, 2012
There is no sign of either fighter, their trainers, or any other representative. The board seemed to be in a generous mood today so the topic was tabled for now. Jesse Camp was recognized by the board and given the floor to speak. His brief explanation of the circumstances surrounding the tardiness of both fighters was accepted, but the board had already decided to table the topic until the fighters are given notice to appear before the board. A side conversation had by several of the board members revealed that there is no chance of a suspension for either fighter. Perhaps a fine, but this will be decided at a later time.
4. Danny Kelley- Matchmaker Application
Approved
5. MMA Judge Application for Matthew Regan
Tabled until Mr. Regan can be present for an interview regarding his application. The certificate of completion of the Judges course he took came into question when none of the members of the quorum could identify either the certifying organization or the signature of the organizations delegate. A best guess was made that it was Gary Eblan's signature, but was not confirmed. The commissioners also wants to verify that Mr. Regan successfully shadowed a licensed MMA judge and what that judge's impressions were of Mr. Regans abilities.
6. planning of Judge/Referee Trainings
This was tabled as well until Chairwoman Latisha Adams could be present. The board recognized Deputy Commissioner Ryan Parker who was given the floor to speak on the topic of the newly recognized 10-8 scoring system recommended by the American Boxing Commission on July 17th, 2012.
As of right now the new system is not being used here in MA. The Commission feels that it will have to amend the current MSAC Rules and Regs, specifically Section 16.04. The commissioners are eager to transition to the newly recommended system, but understand that it will take several steps before going into effect. 1) The wording of the current rules and regs has to be decided upon. 2) the current judges must be given the proper training on how to use this system. 3) the training process must be amended to best prepare potential judges to use the system.
Joe Esposito volunteered to speak with Referee Kevin MacDonald in an effort to open a dialogue between the commission and the trainer. Nothing will be decided until the Chairwoman can be present.
The new system sounds like a better way to go all around, but only time will tell and a whole lot of fighting. So anyone who thought that the new system was a requirement that should have been used in recent matches this is why you were scored the same old way.
7. National ID’s MMA
Tabled until Guy Licciardi (Commissioner) can attend the meeting
Tabled until Guy Licciardi (Commissioner) can attend the meeting
8. Matchmaker Gary Forman/- request for John Downey and Artie Mullen to compete on August 11, 2012 CFX Event
The commission grants the request. John Downey is given one last chance to fight for a win. If he loses the commission will review his credentials again to determine his fitness for MMA competition. Artie is denied the opportunity to fight on this card, but leaves the meeting with his license still valid. If he wants to fight in MA he must reappear with a trainer or matchmaker who will attest to his abilities or the fairness of the match.
9. Justin Kristie Appeal April 20, 2012
Justin Kristie fails to appear before the commission for a second time. The commission votes to close the topic and uphold the current suspension. Approved.
Alright folks now that you have endured the details let me add a little personality to this summary.
I arrived to the meeting about an hour late so there may be a few items on the agenda that I missed, but I doubt it was very much. As I walk into the cramped room John Downey is seated before the commissioners. He is answering a lot of questions regarding his record, his training habits, how he has improved since his last fight, etc, etc. From the look on the faces of Gary, Linda, and Artie Mullen it doesn't appear to be going very well. Joe Esposito is assuring the other commissioners as much as the fighter seated before him that he feels that given a well matched fight that John's career could be renewed. Todd Grossman is not convinced. He wants to hear from a third party that will be willing to attest to John's abilities. The meeting begins to deteriorate a bit with John pleading his case in his own way and the commissioners seemingly tired of hearing the rhetoric. There is a brief exchange in which John declares if he loses this fight he will willingly turn in his license to fight. Gary Litchfield states that he won't have to because he will take it. The meeting becomes a bit more somber. The commission seems hesitant to deny John his request, but they are also concerned that John is making a mistake by putting so much emphasis on fighting this fight due to the implications of a loss. A preliminary vote (unofficial) gives John little hope of winning his appeal, but at the last minute the commission agrees to allow Downey an opportunity to contact his "Trainer". If he can get the "Trainer" to speak on his behalf on speaker phone than the board will give a bit more consideration to his pleas. Downey seems dejected despite the generosity. Gary Forman and Linda Shields accompany Downey out of the room.
The commission invites Artie Mullen to sit before them. They apologize for the fact he just stood in the room for an hour. I assume the whole hour was spent listening to much of the same argument I just witnessed. Regardless Artie doesn't seem to be very comfortable in his new seat. Quickly I come to realize why. Artie is also here to appeal to the board in an effort to be allowed to fight on the CFX card. The board is quick to point out that he should have understood by watching their last guest what was expected from him if he wants to satisfy their needs. He is a passionate speaker. I get a a better vibe from Mullen though it is clear today that passion for this sport does little to improve records. Mullen is facing an extreme uphill battle at the moment due to the fact that Joseph Krowski Jr. is pointing out that his age, record, in-ability to train regularly coupled with the weight class in which he fights in are a recipe for disaster. Some more protesting from Mullen ultimately leads to his silence as the board considers his fate. There is a discussion about Artie's canceled Cage Titans Fight in NH where Mullen was pulled from the card at the last minute due to a computer error that indicated Mullen was suspended in MA even though the suspension had ended a day earlier. Mullen expressed a desire to have the commission assist him in securing his purse that Mike Polvere only paid him half of. The commission however informed Mullen that if he had a grievance it needed to be brought before the NH Athletic Commission due to the fact that MA has no authority in other states. I think in this small amount of time the commission has spoken to Artie enough and decides to make a decision. They agree to allow Artie to remain licensed in MA, but deny him the opportunity to fight in the upcoming CFX show. Artie is thankful and before he leaves the board advises him that he should look for fights out of MA. They also inform him that if he wants to fight in MA he will have to reappear before the board with a trainer or matchmaker that is willing to attest to his overall fitness to compete. Either by summarizing his improved training regimen or by demonstrating the fairness of the match-up.
As Artie leaves the room John Downey returns. Downey looks worried. The board asks if he was able to contact his trainer. The fighter confirms he was able to. The board asks him to call the trainer and allow them to conduct an interview. At this point I left the room for a bit. Partly out of respect for the man on the phone who didn't know that today he was going to vouch for a friend and partly because I didn't want to see John as he was spoken about in the third person. I reentered shortly before the conclusion of the phone call. About 20 minutes or so. The call must have gone well because Todd Grossman seemed to be satisfied that someone other than the Downey, Shields, or Forman would vouch for the man. Downey is granted his fight, but is told he is on notice. If he loses it could be his last fight. The man leaves the room feeling a bit more like a winner. At this moment Gary Forman asks to speak and before anyone can answer he is launching headlong into a personal attack on Joe Esposito. He wants to go on record to say he wants the commission to bar Joe from voting on anything CFX related because Joe never votes in favor of CFX's requests. He states that Joe is being investigated for ethics violations among other things. This seems to me a lot like the attack he made on me for writing poorly about his promotion. Clearly he has anger issues. Todd Grossman is first to react and is pointedly telling Gary that his request is not one the board can grant. He states policy. Gary is still speaking, but looks pissed off. He and Linda leave immediately after this outburst.
That was pretty much the meeting. It did not end after Gary left, but the results of each topic are found above. I left a little after 2. The meeting was being called to an end at this point and a few discussions were happening between the board members. All in all I was surprised that the board was so lenient. These two men who seem so desprately to cling to the idea that being tough makes you a fighter should in my opinion not left that room with a valid license. One man has a record of 0-5 the other a record of 1-10. Both men are pushing close to 40. Neither have teams and neither have a real training program. The only thing they have is a combined loss total of 15 which could be impressive if losing was the new winning. So despite the fact that it was heavily pointed out to both men that their health was the main concern of the members of the commission, none of the commissioners acted to ensure their safety. What are your thoughts?
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