A former UFC champion was allowed to fight in China over the weekend just THREE WEEKS after losing in a brutal manner and still serving a medical suspension. UK MMA's lack of regulation could allow risky quick turnarounds like this to take place.
The weekend saw the UFC visit mainland China for their first event as Fight Night 122 took over the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai. The main event saw Middleweight prospect Kelvin Gastelum knock out British former champion Michael Bisping after just half a round with a devastating left hook. Gastelum’s win and subsequent rise to the top three of a division that many said he was too small for should have been the takeaway story from the event, however, it was unfortunately overshadowed by concerns over Bisping’s health and whether or not he should have been cleared to fight.
Just over three weeks ago, Bisping lost his UFC Middleweight title at UFC 217 to the returning Georges St-Pierre after getting rocked hard with a big left hook which led to St-Pierre taking his back and locking in a rear naked choke which put Bisping to sleep as he refused to tap out. Bisping who has a reputation for taking on all comers, was issued with a mandatory 30-day suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) which would typically have been honoured by commissions across all fifty US states’ regulatory bodies.
However, when it was announced that the legendary Anderson Silva had been pulled from his Chinese main event with Gastelum due to a potential doping violation, Bisping threw his hat into the ring to replace Silva on just a 21-day turnaround after the St-Pierre fight. Many fans applauded the bravery of Bisping to take a fight with such a dangerous prospect so soon after competing in such an intense war, but many more hardcore MMA fans who are more in tune with the risks and dangers that come with the sport were understandably more concerned for the Brit’s health.
Although China may have an MMA regulatory body that recieves partial state funding, it does not fall under the purview of US state athletic commissions which meant that Bisping’s mandatory 30-day medical suspension did not apply in the Far East. The commission has only been in operation for just over a year and must still be getting to grips with regulating the sport but the UFC would have been aware of this suspension and it would have been their call to select Bisping as a late notice replacement in the first place. The UFC did make it clear that Bisping’s spot in the fight was subject to a medical assessment, but by ignoring medical recommendations from a respected athletic commission, they had made a very questionable move.
The point is, had this event been taking place in the US where a sophisticated regulatory structure for MMA is in place, the UFC would not have been able to take matters into their own hands and book a fighter who is still serving a medical suspension after taking damage in a bout just three weeks earlier. Fighters need time for their bodies to recover after a MMA bout, especially if they sustained a number of blows to the head, and Bisping was certainly not given enough time to recover after losing in such a brutal fashion. Bisping confirmed that he actually texted UFC President Dana White asking to step in after hearing about Silva’s failed drugs test on the radio, but it can be argued that the main reason commissions and regulatory structure are in place in MMA, is to protect fighters from themselves, something that did not happen here.
In the UK, MMA has no regulatory/governing body and the only medical suspensions are issued by voluntary medical project Safe MMA which are only adhered to by the few promotions that are registered with them. This creates an environment where a fighter could be on the receiving end of a devastating knockout one week, and then in theory, they would be able to be booked to fight again just a week later, putting their health and wellbeing in serious jeopardy. It is difficult to tell what effect the damage Michael Bisping has taken in last month will have on his long-term health, but what can certainly be said is that he should not have fought Gastelum at the weekend and to have allowed him to do so was an unprofessional, irresponsible move from the world leaders in MMA. Without proper MMA regulation in the UK, cases like Bisping’s could be happening every weekend in a cage near you. Despite the lack of formal regulatory framework in place, a number of MMA events self-regulate themselves to the highest standard and place fighter safety at the top of the agenda, but with the sheer price of proper pre and post-fight medical testing, many smaller promotions who are not partnered with Safe MMA do struggle to cover the costs.