Ian Murphy shouldn't have been allowed to fight against Ronaldo Jacare on the DREAM 2 MMA card in Tokyo. That he was demonstrates the almost complete lack of regulatory oversight in Japanese MMA. The fight culture of the country is rooted in sumo and pro wrestling, with individual fighters often viewed as expendable and interchangeable commodities. In some cases even the simplest steps to protect the fighters' safety are not taken.
A matchup between Ian Murphy and Ronaldo Jacare would have almost certainly been refused sanctioning in the United States. Murphy, a very young 22, was a standout collegiate wrestler who as of a couple of months ago was completing his senior season at Cal State Fullerton. Despite this impressive background, hed been training seriously in mixed martial arts for just over a month. He'd never had an amateur MMA fight, and the fight against Jacare was his professional debut. Murphy certainly has an athletic background that would suggest potential as a mixed martial artist but at this time hes almost a complete novice.
His opponent at DREAM.2, Ronaldo Jacare Souza most decidedly was not. Jacare began training in judo at age 14 and later changed his focus to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Now 27, Jacare is a BJJ black belt and has been called one of the most feared submission grapplers in the world. That was evidenced in 2006 when Jacare fought former UFC heavyweight champ Randy Couture to a draw in a submission wrestling event. Jacare would have been a tough matchup for even his original opponent, tough veteran Frank Trigg. When Trigg pulled out less than a week before the fight DREAM parent company FEG approached Murphy who readily agreed.
The fight itself was essentially over before it began. Murphy was visibly nervous to the point of near panic as he made his ring walk. He could be seen taking a few deep breaths to steady his nerves. While any fighter would have felt a few butterflies walking into Saitama Super Arena for the first time, Murphys obvious apprehension transcended this. This underscored the reality that he hadn't any real experience or knowledge competing or even training in a mixed martial arts environment. While his collegiate background is impressive, DREAM could have likely found an equally competitive opponent for Jacare on the street in front of the arena.
From the start of the match it was all Jacare. Murphy tried to use the only real weapon at his disposal and shot in attempting to take down his opponent. He partially succeeded, but more likely Jacare allowed himself to be taken down. From this point on, Murphy was in Jacare's world where he received an emphatic crash course in submission ground fighting. Murphy didn't have any idea how to counter Jacare's submissions and only his toughness and physical conditioning kept the fight going as long as it did. Murphys cornermen were equally as lost based on the instructions they shouted to their fighter some of which would have been disastrous if they had been heeded. The end came when Jacare gave up on a Kimura attempt that Murphy was defending with sheer strength alone and transitioned into a rear naked choke. With no significant experience or knowledge about how to defend chokes, he had no choice to tap.
Ronaldo Jacare is the one player in this story that can be held blameless. He did what a fighter is supposed to do, which is to try to defeat his opponent to the best of his ability. Virtually everyone else involved in the fight bears some measure of culpability. DREAM's promoters should have never offered Murphy the fight, and Murphy and his handlers should have never taken them up on their offer. Fortunately, Murphy was unharmed aside from a decent beating but the potential for tragedy in a situation like this is obvious.
Any legitimate regulatory oversight body would have done what everyone else involved did not by refusing to sanction this fight. In Japan, however, there isn't any significant oversight of the sort and none focused on the well being of the fighters. In the United States, the sport is regulated by state athletic commissions in the same way as boxing. In Japan, the sport that grew out of professional wrestling is regulated in essentially the same way. That is to say like pro wrestling its largely anything goes in terms of rules, safety and other issues concerning fighter well being.
Change comes slowly in Japanese culture and in political matters slower still. The two organizations that oversee Japanese boxing (the Japanese Boxing Association and the Japanese Professional Boxing Association) have historically done little and have existed more as money making ventures than regulatory agencies. Its taken some high profile in ring deaths in recent years to even generate talk of reform. Despite some nominal show of concern by government officials little has been done and the JBA and JPBA are more concerned about their turf war as sanctioning bodies than they are doing anything to protect fighters who box in Japan. The promotion behind World Victory Road has done what they can to rectify the situation with regard to MMA by creating a Japan Mixed Martial Arts Commission to serve as the oversight authority for the sport. Unfortunately, without some government involvement its unlikely they can have much of an impact just as the supposed current group in charge of rules in Japanese MMA, the International Shooto Commission, has been rendered largely impotent.
The sad reality is that with the glacial pace of progressive reform within Japanese political culture any government involvement is unlikely. Even if a death were to occur the lack of progress in boxing regulation when faced with a similar scenario doesn't provide much hope for improved safety rules for MMA fighters. While WVR is trying with their MMA oversight commission the only hope for real change in the near term is for promoters to realize that protecting their fighters is in the best interest of the sport which, in turn, is good for the bottom line.
A matchup between Ian Murphy and Ronaldo Jacare would have almost certainly been refused sanctioning in the United States. Murphy, a very young 22, was a standout collegiate wrestler who as of a couple of months ago was completing his senior season at Cal State Fullerton. Despite this impressive background, hed been training seriously in mixed martial arts for just over a month. He'd never had an amateur MMA fight, and the fight against Jacare was his professional debut. Murphy certainly has an athletic background that would suggest potential as a mixed martial artist but at this time hes almost a complete novice.
His opponent at DREAM.2, Ronaldo Jacare Souza most decidedly was not. Jacare began training in judo at age 14 and later changed his focus to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Now 27, Jacare is a BJJ black belt and has been called one of the most feared submission grapplers in the world. That was evidenced in 2006 when Jacare fought former UFC heavyweight champ Randy Couture to a draw in a submission wrestling event. Jacare would have been a tough matchup for even his original opponent, tough veteran Frank Trigg. When Trigg pulled out less than a week before the fight DREAM parent company FEG approached Murphy who readily agreed.
The fight itself was essentially over before it began. Murphy was visibly nervous to the point of near panic as he made his ring walk. He could be seen taking a few deep breaths to steady his nerves. While any fighter would have felt a few butterflies walking into Saitama Super Arena for the first time, Murphys obvious apprehension transcended this. This underscored the reality that he hadn't any real experience or knowledge competing or even training in a mixed martial arts environment. While his collegiate background is impressive, DREAM could have likely found an equally competitive opponent for Jacare on the street in front of the arena.
From the start of the match it was all Jacare. Murphy tried to use the only real weapon at his disposal and shot in attempting to take down his opponent. He partially succeeded, but more likely Jacare allowed himself to be taken down. From this point on, Murphy was in Jacare's world where he received an emphatic crash course in submission ground fighting. Murphy didn't have any idea how to counter Jacare's submissions and only his toughness and physical conditioning kept the fight going as long as it did. Murphys cornermen were equally as lost based on the instructions they shouted to their fighter some of which would have been disastrous if they had been heeded. The end came when Jacare gave up on a Kimura attempt that Murphy was defending with sheer strength alone and transitioned into a rear naked choke. With no significant experience or knowledge about how to defend chokes, he had no choice to tap.
Ronaldo Jacare is the one player in this story that can be held blameless. He did what a fighter is supposed to do, which is to try to defeat his opponent to the best of his ability. Virtually everyone else involved in the fight bears some measure of culpability. DREAM's promoters should have never offered Murphy the fight, and Murphy and his handlers should have never taken them up on their offer. Fortunately, Murphy was unharmed aside from a decent beating but the potential for tragedy in a situation like this is obvious.
Any legitimate regulatory oversight body would have done what everyone else involved did not by refusing to sanction this fight. In Japan, however, there isn't any significant oversight of the sort and none focused on the well being of the fighters. In the United States, the sport is regulated by state athletic commissions in the same way as boxing. In Japan, the sport that grew out of professional wrestling is regulated in essentially the same way. That is to say like pro wrestling its largely anything goes in terms of rules, safety and other issues concerning fighter well being.
Change comes slowly in Japanese culture and in political matters slower still. The two organizations that oversee Japanese boxing (the Japanese Boxing Association and the Japanese Professional Boxing Association) have historically done little and have existed more as money making ventures than regulatory agencies. Its taken some high profile in ring deaths in recent years to even generate talk of reform. Despite some nominal show of concern by government officials little has been done and the JBA and JPBA are more concerned about their turf war as sanctioning bodies than they are doing anything to protect fighters who box in Japan. The promotion behind World Victory Road has done what they can to rectify the situation with regard to MMA by creating a Japan Mixed Martial Arts Commission to serve as the oversight authority for the sport. Unfortunately, without some government involvement its unlikely they can have much of an impact just as the supposed current group in charge of rules in Japanese MMA, the International Shooto Commission, has been rendered largely impotent.
The sad reality is that with the glacial pace of progressive reform within Japanese political culture any government involvement is unlikely. Even if a death were to occur the lack of progress in boxing regulation when faced with a similar scenario doesn't provide much hope for improved safety rules for MMA fighters. While WVR is trying with their MMA oversight commission the only hope for real change in the near term is for promoters to realize that protecting their fighters is in the best interest of the sport which, in turn, is good for the bottom line.
About the Author:
Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Sports-1 and an authority on UFC betting. He's a well known and widely published expert on sports handicapping theory, as well as financial investment strategy. He contributes to a number of websites providing insight on how to bet on CFL football, MMA and boxing.
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