A plea to legalize MMA in ONTARIO

System · 10-24-2006, 05:50 PM

Does anyone know the reason why MMA is currently illegal in Ontario?

I did some research and Ken Hayashi (Director of the Ontario Athletic Commission) stated that MMA is illegal under section 83 of the Canadian Criminal code. Here's a link to the government's official site: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/28...tml#rid-280437

Fair enough, Ken. But WHY can they hold MMA events in provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia? If it's part of the criminal code of CANADA, shouldn't we in Ontario (The most populous province in the country) be able to enjoy MMA as well?

Does anyone have REAL answers as to why this is happening?

EDIT- Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but it didn't seem to fit anywhere else.

Munch_Caldwell · 10-24-2006, 05:57 PM

Be happy atleast Pot is legal, well maybe not technacly legal but you don't get in trouble for smoking.

TriStarGym-MTL · 10-24-2006, 06:32 PM

Be happy atleast gay marriage is legal.

System · 10-24-2006, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriStarGym-MTL

Be happy atleast gay marriage is legal.

Whatever.

For those that actually care:

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSport...37566-sun.html

This quote pissed me off.

"This is a fad," says Peter Wylie, the long-time coach at Cabbagetown Boxing Club in Toronto. "The 20-somethings don't even know what they are looking at. What kind of martial arts has a person held down, getting punched in the back of the head while they are virtually unconscious? That isn't sport. I can watch that out on the street if I want to. Say what you want about boxing, but people who follow it always will. They might watch ultimate fighting on TV, but they know boxing is supremely more technical, more athletic."

Shawn_Toronto · 10-24-2006, 06:41 PM

the only place mma is going to be big is montreeal

System · 10-24-2006, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn_Toronto

the only place mma is going to be big is montreeal

Well, we won't exactly know that until we can have sanctioned events here in Ontario, now can we?

Zero_Sen · 10-24-2006, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by System

Whatever.

For those that actually care:

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSport...37566-sun.html

This quote pissed me off.

"This is a fad," says Peter Wylie, the long-time coach at Cabbagetown Boxing Club in Toronto. "The 20-somethings don't even know what they are looking at. What kind of martial arts has a person held down, getting punched in the back of the head while they are virtually unconscious? That isn't sport. I can watch that out on the street if I want to. Say what you want about boxing, but people who follow it always will. They might watch ultimate fighting on TV, but they know boxing is supremely more technical, more athletic."

Boxing is great ... except for all the corruption, the paper champions, the illegitimate shots at titles, the lack of title shots for guys who don't have a big name manager, the boring fightcards which promoters attempt to pass off as acceptable, the huge drop in boxing viewership due to MMA fanbases increasing, the way that boxing discourages athletic competition by banning pros from fighting in the olympics, the way that boxing commissions starve their brightest up-and-comers by forcing them to live belolw the poverty line to retain olympic status, the way that sponsors encourage fighters to massively whore themselves out by having logos and websites written on their backs with marker, the outdated and far-too-controversial scoring system, the decreasing fitness level of HWs in the past few years, the fact there is no kicking, the fact that you can be saved by the bell, the fact that boxing leads to long-term brain dammage in most fighters, the way in which sponsors exert far too much influence on match-ups and venue choices, the way that the best boxers always seem to become really cocky and pay for it by losing 'easy' fights, the way that boxing enterances have turned into ridiculous spectacles (thanks prince naseem), the price of a boxing ticket, the price of a boxing PPV with only one half-watchable, 15-second fight on the entire card, the price of one watching one fight (in relative terms, dollars per minute), the racist attitudes of "old-school" trainers who should be setting an example, the rampant underground drug trade (painkillers) that boxing promotes amongst fighters, the out-of-control purses that are slowly crippling the sport, and all the factors which have turned the once highly-respected, noble, and world-class-level sport of boxing into the unwatchable paradox (at once full of spectacle, yet boring) that it has become.

But yeah, aside from those issues, boxing is great!

System · 10-24-2006, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zero_Sen

Boxing is great ... except for all the corruption, the paper champions, the illegitimate shots at titles, the lack of title shots for guys who don't have a big name manager, the boring fightcards which promoters attempt to pass off as acceptable, the huge drop in boxing viewership due to MMA fanbases increasing, the way that boxing discourages athletic competition by banning pros from fighting in the olympics, the way that boxing commissions starve their brightest up-and-comers by forcing them to live belolw the poverty line to retain olympic status, the way that sponsors encourage fighters to massively whore themselves out by having logos and websites written on their backs with marker, the outdated and far-too-controversial scoring system, the decreasing fitness level of HWs in the past few years, the fact there is no kicking, the fact that you can be saved by the bell, the fact that boxing leads to long-term brain dammage in most fighters, the way in which sponsors exert far too much influence on match-ups and venue choices, the way that the best boxers always seem to become really cocky and pay for it by losing 'easy' fights, the way that boxing enterances have turned into ridiculous spectacles (thanks prince naseem), the price of a boxing ticket, the price of a boxing PPV with only one half-watchable, 15-second fight on the entire card, the price of one watching one fight (in relative terms, dollars per minute), the racist attitudes of "old-school" trainers who should be setting an example, the rampant underground drug trade (painkillers) that boxing promotes amongst fighters, the out-of-control purses that are slowly crippling the sport, and all the factors which have turned the once highly-respected, noble, and world-class-level sport of boxing into the unwatchable paradox (at once full of spectacle, yet boring) that it has become.

But yeah, aside from those issues, boxing is great!

Send this to Ken Hayashi!

Twistedbydesign · 10-25-2006, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn_Toronto

the only place mma is going to be big is montreeal

Nah.
There are a number of good fighters here in Ontario.
I hope it changes soon. I dont train MMA, only BJJ, but there are a number of MMA fighters at my gym and Im sure they'd love to fight infront of a 'home town' crowd.

Big Slick · 10-25-2006, 03:43 PM

Nice thread....check my sig....I have been encouraging fellow Ontario MMA fans to write Ken Hayashi for months. What I want to know is how the Ontario Athletic Commissioner is appointed? Becasue the way it looks to me is that as long as Ken is in the role, MMA will never be legal. Ontario needs someone younger and fresher with more of a business sense.