Sunday, August 15, 2010

Ontario to allow Mixed Martial Arts events

“This will be province No. 7 of our 10. We’ll continue that process until our provinces and states in North America, indeed countries around the world, recognize MMA as a sport.”
In truth, Ontario’s decision may be less about tapping out, or giving in, to pressure to allow the fighting events, and more about cashing in.
The Ontario government is estimating that a major MMA event could attract as many as 30,000 fans and generate as much as $6 million in local economic activity.
Mixed martial arts fights pit two competitors against each other in a fighting style that typically combines striking, grappling and submission techniques.
But bloody images of fighters going at each other inside a cage until one taps out — gives up — gets knocked out, or time runs out, has been slammed as barbaric by critics.
Source: National Post