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Greg Sirb’s Pennsylvania commission and how he behaves in MMA circles
By Zach Arnold | July 1, 2009
I’ve illustrated in the past on this web site discussions about Greg Sirb and his affairs previously in boxing. Sirb’s got quite a background.
It’s a background that MMA blogs need to stop ignoring and start paying close attention to. Want some details? Read Charles Jay’s series on Sirb right here. Read the companion transcript about Greg Page at ESPN. Read it all.
Sirb has already quite a reputation, especially if you were an wrestling fan in the 90s and saw the Pennsylvania athletic commission up close and personal.
So, Mike Chiappetta’s report today, Is Cops vs. Cons MMA event a good idea in newly regulated state?, should raise some eyebrows.
This clearly isn’t the best way to market a still-growing sport in a state that just recently ratified it. Pennsylvania is one of the most recent states to regulate MMA, so this is going to be one of the first sanctioned local cards its residents hear about. There are still so many misconceptions about MMA and the supposed “bloodlust” of its fans. As a growing sport, MMA still needs to put its best foot forward as often as possible.
In June, it was Sirb and the ABC that issued a press release titled: Association of Boxing Commissions, Greg Sirb prevent a possible tragedy in the ring. It was about Sirb getting the Tim Sylvia/Ray Mercer boxing match cancelled in favor of an MMA fight where both men stood up.
So, Greg Sirb’s pounding his chest in a press release about stopping ‘a tragedy’ but a “Cops vs. Cons” MMA show gets the green light?
Here’s another headline Greg probably isn’t too thrilled with: Pennsylvania boxing commissioner Greg Sirb sued for malfeasance
Want a recent article about Sirb and his antics in MMA circles? Read this and cringe.
In a small, dimly-lit room backstage at Wisehaven, Sirb sat at a table with all his paperwork. He called in the first fighter. After that, it was his voice booming, “Next fighter!” Each fighter heard the same line, “Take off your hat, sit down!”
When fighter Kevin Flinchbaugh gave Sirb his MMA identification, Sirb took a look at it, looked at Kevin and said, “You look just like your picture, ugly as sin.”
Fighter Keith McDonald didn’t have a copy of his ID, but Sirb did. Sirb gave the paper to McDonald to make a copy from, and told him to bring the original back, “If you don’t, you’ll have a fight before you have a fight.”
The more the general public learns of Greg Sirb’s behavior, the more they will start having flashbacks to Armando Garcia and how he acted as a commissioner with certain rules and antics in California. Coincidentally, Armando Garcia was also aligned in the past with the Association of Boxing Commissions.
Let’s see if some MMA writers have the gumption to criticize Sirb like some in the boxing writing community have in the past.
There’s Greg Sirb and then there’s Nick Lembo. Quite a difference.
Topics: Boxing, MMA, Media, Zach Arnold | | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
Let me tell you, this isn’t only a boxing problem or an MMA problem per se. This is a problem that will always pop up when small-minded people end up in jobs that give them an inflated sense of power.
I’ve worked in and with commissions in several states, and they’re all chock full of people who feel as if their position confers upon them some type of power that makes up for something else that they’re lacking in their lives.
I am a Pennsylvanian, and we definitely don’t want this kind of business in MMA. We also need to seperate MMA from boxing and stop putting “boxing men” in positions of power.
I am concerned for the future of MMA in Pennsylvania if Sirb is the man commissioning MMA fights. He is unjust, and unfair. Most involved in the sport believe that he is power hungry. Unfortunately, until someone who is better suited to commission fights is found I believe any fighter who fights in PA will have a problem.
Greg Sirb is one of, if not The Best Commissioner in the United States. I spent 6 years in an unofficial role as an Acting Commissioner reporting to Greg and if there is a more “squeeky clean”, by the book, safety first Commission Executive Director, I have not met him. Greg and I certainly did not aways see eye-to-eye but there is no one I’ve met in professional boxing that I have more respect for. I would submit to the posters before me that they might want to actually deal with the man prior to reaching any conclusions.
BTW - there is an excellent and very functional reason for “take off your hat” - It’s the most common place for hiding foreign objects. At Mr. Sirb’s suggestion I did this while in my Acting Commissioner role and caught someone with a razor blade within a 1/2 dozen events after implementing the policy.
Woody Kislowski