Q: I love to watch mixed martial arts fighting on TV and would like nothing better than to see it live. But it seems I have to go to the United States for this. Why is this sport banned in Canada?
A: It is not banned throughout Canada anymore, although those developments are relatively recent.
Mixed martial arts ( MMA) creates controversy wherever it is held.
Over the last few years it has gone from a fringe sport to one of the biggest and most lucrative events in North America. The pay-per-view revenue alone is staggering.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
For those who haven’t seen it, MMA is a full-contact fight where strikes with fists, elbows, knees and feet are allowed, as is grappling and techniques of submission.
It is extremely violent.
Critics argue that it is too bloody, promotes violence and injuries among youth and untrained individuals, and generally contributes to the downfall of modern society.
Many argue that it is not a sport at all, calling it dog fighting with humans.
Critics relied on Section 83 of the Criminal Code of Canada, stating that MMA events were nothing more than illegally promoted prize fights. This was not a strong legal argument.
Supporters argue, and have some statistics, that events such as hockey and football are just as violent and result in more serious injuries.
Long-term studies aren’t available because MMA is a young sport.
Last fall, the Canadian Medical Association requested a full ban on this sport within Canada.
However, Ontario, which had initially banned MMA contests, recently started allowing them. This appears to be the result of public pressure, including a large Facebook petition campaign that started in Ontario and spread across Canada.
In fairness, there are also petitions in Canada and the United States seeking national MMA bans.
New York state has banned MMA contests since 1997 and shows no sign of changing the law despite calls for its repeal, based in large part on the revenue these events generate.
As a result, a large MMA event has been scheduled for Toronto April 30. Rogers Centre was originally set up to hold 42,000 fans, but all those seats sold.
The plan was then reconfigured and the crowd will now be 55,000, and a sell-out appears to be a sure thing.
Ticket sales will generate more than $11 million, and then there is pay-per-view, merchandising and other revenue. As a result, it’s easy to see why many in Canada wanted the ban lifted so that they can get a slice of that large cash pie.
However, the dispute and debate continues.
Many doctors suggest that the sport is dangerous, using terms like barbaric.
Others say these events won’t disappear if they are banned. Instead they will simply go underground and prosecutions will be rare and largely unsuccessful.
As matters now stand, MMA events are not illegal, are not banned throughout Canada and will likely be held where markets can support large crowds.
They will continue to create strong opinions on both sides of the argument, but will not likely be subject to a ban unless and until there is strong medical evidence showing that the harmful effects of this sport are worse than sports already accepted in Canada.
Rick Danyliuk is a lawyer with McDougall Gauley LLP in Saskatoon.
