Combative Sports Commission lays down the law at latest meeting

Suspensions were the order of business at the latest meeting of the Minnesota Combative Sports Commission at the Schwans Center in Blaine on Monday Night.

Despite ongoing questions regarding whether or not the MCSC has the legal authority to levy disciplinary suspensions, three were handed down by the commission for separate incidents.

Mixed Martial Arts promoter Nick Gamst, who runs shows under the banner of Brutaal and Brutaal Genesis, was suspended for 60 days. According the commission chairman R.D. Brown, the suspension came from Gamst's failure to pay the medical bill of a fighter injured on his April 2009 show at the Myth night club in Maplewood.

While Gamst had insurance covering the fighters on the event, there was originally some dispute about whether it was the responsibility of the promoter or the fighter to cover the deductible.

Gamst argued to the commission late last year fighters should cover the deductible because it would be cost prohibitive to run shows if he ran the risk of multiple fighters requiring medical assistance on one of his events. The commission voted unanimous it was the promoter's responsibility to cover all costs, and warned Gamst he would face a penalty if he did not pay the outstanding $900 bill in a closed-door session in February.

As of Monday, Gamst had yet to pay the bill, so he has been suspended from promoting shows for 60 days. Gamst has a previously scheduled event in Austin in May. Brown said the show will not be sanctioned by the commission. If he fails to pay the bill before the 60 days is up, he will have to appear in front of the commission to get his license reinstated.

The other two suspensions handed down were against fighters stemming from incidents surrounding the March 27 Havoc at the Hyatt show.

About 11 a.m., the matchmaker for the show called Hassing's manager and told him they had found an opponent, Nick Gutierrez from Rochester, who they agreed to fight. Later that night after the weigh-ins, Hassing reportedly called from another event in town and said he thought Gutierrez was too tough and would not be fighting him, after Gutierrez had already driven into town.

Compounding the problem, word got out before the event Hassing agreed to fight for a rival promoter the following week, leading the matchmakers to think that he had been talked out of fighting for them.

Since Hassing is an amateur fighter and was not being paid to fight, neither the promoter nor the commission had any way of seeking financial recourse from the fighter for his actions. Chairman Brown said he felt the only action was to suspend the fighter for 30 days.

Commissioner Michelle Gravenish questioned if the commission should have a set policy on these types of situations, but Chairman Brown quickly interrupted her and said he felt she should recuse herself from the discussion since Hassing was receiving council on the subject from Gravenish's husband, MMA manager Mike Reilly.

The commission also discussed a situation at the Savage Entertainment show on Saturday where local fighter Fred Isbell arrived at the weigh-ins the night before and told promoter Eric Aasen he would not be fighting, forcing Aasen to have to offer free tickets the next night to people who had paid to see Isbell.

The second suspension was a six-month suspension given to Lake City's Derek Abram for fighting without a license and communicating in bad faith with the commission.

Abram was a last-minute replacement on the Hyatt show the day of the event after Zack Juusola's original opponent could not make weight. Abram told the commissioner present his license was in good standing. The commissioner allowed him to fight since he had just fought the month before in St Cloud.

After losing the fight, Ambition trainer Joey Clark forwarded a letter to the commission for Abram in which Abram claimed he had been pressured into fighting that day. He said he felt the fight would be considered an exhibition and asked the fight be removed him his record.

Gravenish again recused herself from the discussion since Reilly was also giving council to Abram on this issue.

Brown stated while Abram may or may not have known his license was expired, at some point he had been communicating with the commission in bad faith, either the day of the fight when he said his license was in good standing, or after the event when he claimed he had been pressured into fighting, when numerous sources had informed the commission Abram was excited to fight and had told the matchmaker he needed the money to pay his rent and get his cell phone turned back on.

The commission also acknowledged the commissioner working the event had made a mistake in allowing Abram to fight without a valid license, and would be taking steps to make sure it never happened again. They will not be taking action against the promoter since the promoter had acted in good faith through the entire process.

Also on the agenda was the issue of who controls the ring or cage-side area at the events. Many times there have been problems with promoters selling ringside seats to VIP ticket-holders and placing them next to the judge. Some of these fans end up becoming intoxicated and can end up being a distraction to the judge, which interferes with the commission's ability.

Brown told the commission the Association of Boxing Commission rules, which the MCSC approved in 2007, stated the commission controls the ringside area.

Commissioner Gravenish asked the chairman if it was really fair to tell promoters they could not sell these ringside seats, some of which can go for up to $400. She told the commission there had never been a problem at the event she had been to.

Many of the commissioners and community members present disagreed. Chairman Brown told Gravenish "maybe if you had attended more than one or two events, you would know." He told her she should attempt to make it to more events so she can witness the problems firsthand, and until then she couldn't really comment.

Also, the commission passed a motion naming Vinny Gargiulo the head judge for the MCSC and Daryl Guthmiller the head referee. They will oversee the other officials and be the liaison between officials and the commission.

The meeting was started with the announcement of Executive Director Scott LeDoux's retirement and the upcoming replacement process which was covered in yesterday's blog. Commissioner Bob Stein led the discussion since the commission chair is a potential candidate.