The California State Athletic Commission is openly losing & manipulating fighter paperwork
By Zach Arnold | September 6, 2012
When we last checked in about the California State Athletic Commission and the Department of Consumer Affairs, we discussed how the “3 inspector policy” at California combat sports shows is creating havoc as far as enforcing issues connected to health & safety. With the few inspectors on the ground at shows not enforcing the rules or regulations, chaos has ensued and cheating is exploding.
A few days before that article, we wrote an extensive prediction article regarding what state auditors would find once they start digging into the activities in the Sacramento office of CSAC. Not only would auditors likely discover that most inspectors working for the commission can’t manage a box office (costing the state upwards in 7 figures of missing revenue), they can’t even manage basic rules of safety for fighters who participate at shows throughout the state of California. If you can’t run a box office and you can’t ensure the health & safety of the competitors, what’s the point of your existence?
After our most recent articles, we assumed that there would be some reaction to what we presented. Throughout the boxing & MMA industries, promoters & fighters are genuinely appalled at what is going on in California. They are, simply put, taken aback. And with good reason. The Department of Consumer Affairs, led by Denise Brown and Awet Kidane, acknowledge that fraud is taking place under their noses and are refusing to fix the situation. They refuse to fire the individuals involved in shady & criminal activity. Workers in the CSAC front office no longer take any threats seriously and reportedly are laughing off any sort of analysis about their execrable behavior.
Is there anything that might change the mood of the powers-that-be at Consumer Affairs? Yes, when state auditors discover what we just discovered in research regarding the way the Sacramento office manages & processes licensing and medical paperwork for fighters.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 15 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White: “What exactly did I say about Jon Jones that was so horrible?”
By Zach Arnold | September 5, 2012
ARIEL HELWANI: “Just a few days removed, of course, the big news that UFC 151 was canceled. Obviously, you were very fired up when you made this announcement. Have you calmed down? Has it subsided? How are you feeling just a few days out?”
DANA WHITE: “Yeah, I have. I, uh… you know, I had my moment where I was upset. Again, one of the things that I like to do is I like consistency, I loved that we never canceled an event, you know, and there were times where people felt, you know… should you have made that certain event a PPV? But the show always goes on. People don’t realize, you know, the collateral damage that goes down, how many people are depending on these events to happen. Not just the fighters and not just the UFC but so many other people that are, you know, either work for or our invested in this and, you know… in some way. And, uh, it’s the first time that we’ve ever had to do it. So, yeah, I was a little emotional about it.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Any regrets with the way it was handled from the UFC’s end?”
DANA WHITE: “Nope. I don’t want to speak for the UFC. I’ll say no on my end, no. I have no regrets whatsoever.”
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 40 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Keith Kizer admits NSAC doctor issuing testosterone passes isn’t an endocrinologist
By Zach Arnold | September 2, 2012
I’ve had many people ask me why I haven’t devoted more time recently investigating Keith Kizer and the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The truth is that there is so much going on in California, a state that has as twice as many shows happening as any other in America, I only have enough time and resources to focus on one mess that needs to be cleaned up. You know how extensive our investigation into the state of affairs in California has been.
However, don’t come away with the impression that we have a lack of interest in what’s happening with the mess that Keith Kizer has created in Nevada. Trust me, there is no more single infuriating regulatory figurehead in combat sports than Keith Kizer.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Chaos at California State Athletic Commission: Skinned gloves, illegal hand-wraps, wrong gloves
By Zach Arnold | August 31, 2012
The implementation of Sacramento’s new “3 inspector policy” per show is turning out to be a disaster, not only for liability purposes (enforcing health & safety) but also for managing the box offices at live events. Mismanaging cash is bad enough, but placing fighters at risk for getting severely injured or killed is an entirely different matter.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Crystal ball: California State Athletic Commission audit will reveal up to 7-figures $ missing
By Zach Arnold | August 28, 2012
With the recent announcement by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that the California State Athletic Commission, controlled by Denise Brown’s Department of Consumer Affairs, will get audited we decided to write an article to prepare everyone for what may be upcoming in regards to the results found in said audit.
We have already heard word that various auditors have started their work for the state of California. There are allegedly auditors that focusing specifically on certain tasks (such as some auditors going to live events to see how everything is operating under the ridiculous ‘3-inspector policy’ now being instituted).
Given the amount of sources I have interviewed and the amount of research information that I have obtained, I feel comfortable enough in developing a report that will give you some of my predictions as to what the auditors will find is wrong with the Department of Consumer Affairs and CSAC. Keep in mind that DCA will be interested in how to spin the audit so they can cover their asses when some of the skeletons in the closet are revealed.
As the public has seen with the drug testing debacle that happened on Monday, you can only imagine what is really hidden beneath the surface. Some of the truths are flat out frightening, both from a financial and health & safety perspective.
So, what are some of our predictions as to what auditors will find is wrong with the California State Athletic Commission? Warning: Our list of predictions is extensive and thorough. There was no other way we could avoid writing this article without painstakingly laying out where the cash is missing and who’s involved in this mess.
WHAT WILL BE FOUND?
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Five questions coming out of the cancellation of UFC 151
By Zach Arnold | August 25, 2012
I’ll throw out some questions here and I want to hear your responses in return.
1. How much of Dana White’s conference call talk was a real reflection of UFC management disgust and how much of it was an act to appease other angry business suitors?
I don’t doubt that the anger was very real with UFC management about what happened with the September 1st event in Las Vegas. The problem is that UFC put themselves in a position where they are running so many shows, the fight sheets are like a house of cards ready to topple over when the main event collapses.
However, I suspect that some of the outrage from Dana White towards Jon Jones was more about trying to show angered business partners of Zuffa that they care. Even if MMA attracts don’t attract the kind of whales that boxing crowds do, I’m sure the casinos are less than pleased with the way things have gone down. After all, UFC lost Alistair Overeem for their May card in Vegas and now they have to cancel a Vegas show. Given how the casinos scratch each others backs, I can only imagine that Zuffa is feeling the heat from many quarters.
Even if you take in account the rumors that business for UFC 151 was not great, it’s still a Las Vegas card and it’s supposed to be the home turf for UFC. They’re drawing weaker and weaker advances for most Vegas shows now but many people in the state still rely on UFC events to bring the state cash. Is it absurd that Dana White thinks a testosterone poster boy who lost a 185 pound title fight should immediately get a Light Heavyweight title shot? Yes. But it’s equally as absurd that Jon Jones got into a Twitter battle with Chael Sonnen in the first place knowing that he didn’t have interest in fighting the guy.
2. How much longer are Dana White & Lorenzo Fertitta willing to stick around as UFC owners?
You remember an article we posted last October from an industry source that said that they didn’t think Dana White would be the right man to lead the UFC during their stint with Fox? It’s been a pretty crazy start to the UFC/Fox relationship so far and more chaos is coming.
From the article:
Dana White no longer understands the fan base he is supposed to be catering to. This is a two part issue. The first is the number of PPV’s being run by the UFC. The second is the promoting of the smaller weight classes.
If it wasn’t for UFC booking Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort as the main event of the 9/22 Toronto event, you’re talking about Joe Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson as your main event for the new 125-pound Flyweight title. So far, the smaller weight class fights (men) have not drawn well on PPV. You can continue to say ‘exposure, more exposure’ as a mantra but at some point you also have to come to the realization that fans have a certain expectation of size and strength that they have for fighters they see on television. It’s different with boxing fans. With MMA fans, I do believe that for PPV fights you are talking about Lightweights (155 pounds) as the smallest weight class you can go in terms of convincing your casual fight fan to take the competitors seriously. Sure, the Bantamweights and Featherweights have a niche core amongst MMA fans (especially on cable) but it’s not the size that I think a lot of industry leaders thought it could be.
As for how long Dana White sticks around, I could definitely see him out of the sport in a couple of years if health problems continue to mount. Burnout is real.
3. Have we seen the maximum growth potential already for UFC under current management?
Split this into three parts – a) the TV sector, b) the PPV sector, c) live houses. For a) I’ll say there’s plenty of room to grow. For b) I’ll say that you’ll always have the occasional fight that pops a big buyrate but that the floor number for UFC PPV buys is decreasing significantly. As for c)… it feels like eons ago that UFC drew the massive house at the Sky Dome when it fact it wasn’t that long ago…
4. Are fighters gaining political power because of increased exposure or because of thinner cards?
I can’t make an argument for increased exposure. If the sports media took MMA seriously, they would be hyperventilating over guys like Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, and Frank Mir using testosterone just like they are hyperventilating over Melky Cabrera & Bartolo Colon getting caught for using the magic T.
It’s all about UFC sabotaging their own bottom line by running too many shows that seem to blur together for the casual fan. But, at some point, even rich people hate losing money and they return a point of negative returns. How much further does UFC need to go on the over-saturation route to reach their pain threshold?
5. Will UFC cut back on the number of PPVs in future years? If so, is it already too late to recover from the damage of watering down their PPV brand?
They would do themselves a world of good by going to 8 PPVs and 4 Fox network shows, mixed in with the occasional FX & Fuel shows. But they won’t cut back on the number of shows. They should, but they won’t.
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 74 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC September cards: UFC 151 (9/1 Las Vegas) event canceled
By Zach Arnold | August 23, 2012
What should have been taking place but won’t due to Dan Henderson main event cancellation (torn MCL)…
Instead, Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida on 9/22 in Toronto. Plus, Dana White buried Jon Jones for turning down a Vegas fight on 9/1 against Chael Sonnen.
Dana White called Greg Jackson ‘a sport killer’ for advising Jones not to fight Sonnen.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 123 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Did Governor Jerry Brown reveal a DCA quid pro quo at the California State Athletic Commission to fire George Dodd?
By Zach Arnold | August 23, 2012
The current Chairman of the California State Athletic Commission, John Frierson, has been a friend & political ally of Governor Jerry Brown for over 40 years. Linda Forster, a 42-year old business owner who wants to become a powerful politician in California, is a political ally of Mr. Frierson. Linda Forster was appointed last year to the CSAC board by Governor Jerry Brown. Governor appointments to the CSAC board are one year in length without approval from the state Senate Rules Committee, which is led by Senate boss Darrell Steinberg. If you get confirmed by the SRC, you can hang around the commission for a few more years.
When the heat was on former CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd over budget affairs last June at a San Diego meeting, the newly-appointed head of the Department of Consumer Affairs (Denise Brown) wanted Dodd out of a job. She wanted to show the Senate Rules Committee that she would be tough on budget matters. The end result was the spectacle we got in El Monte, California on June 26th where a dozen top DCA officials failed to convince the CSAC board to fire Dodd. The DCA dirty dozen included DCA #2, Awet Kidane. At the El Monte hearing, it was Jerry Brown ally John Frierson that wouldn’t take orders from Consumer Affairs to fire Dodd. Instead, Dodd was censured.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: CSAC, Media, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Joe Rogan: BJ Penn has 10 more years of fighting experience than Rory MacDonald, OK?
By Zach Arnold | August 22, 2012
I guess this counts for insight now?
It’s basically a three minute video of Joe Rogan trying to sell the argument that having more experience is better than being younger & less injured… except he does a 180 half way through the video to make the other case.
Consider this an attempt to try to push to the fans that Dan Henderson has better than a 15% chance of winning the September 1st fight against Jon Jones… or the fact that Rory MacDonald shouldn’t be a 3-to-1 favorite over BJ Penn for their December 8th Seattle fight on Fox broadcast TV.
Speaking of curious, Jon Jones has been squawking about how he doesn’t want to fight Lyoto Machida because there’s not enough financial upside for him to do so. This statement comes from a man who just signed a sponsorship deal with Nike. Jon does seem to have a little bit of LeBron James-style PR cluelessness in him when it comes to the things that come out of his mouth…
On the bright side, at least he hasn’t been getting sued at the rate that Mark Burnett has been lately in regards to money issues. That’s a quick way to go broke.
It is kind of sad to see Jones & UFC embrace the concept of building a fight with Chael Sonnen right after Anderson Silva took care of business in Las Vegas a couple of months ago. Jones is ripping into Dan Henderson’s testosterone usage and he would also rip into Sonnen’s use of the magical T.
What a great image for Mixed Martial Arts in 2012 to be dealing with a bunch of big name fighters who use testosterone and to have such usage be used to market fights. Wonderful.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Andre Berto re-licensing by CSAC is another stain for the Department of Consumer Affairs
By Zach Arnold | August 22, 2012
On Tuesday, the Department of Consumer Affairs which oversees the California State Athletic Commission decided to re-license boxer Andre Berto approximately three months after he failed a VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency) drug test for nandrolone.
Since the drug test Berto failed was not a CSAC official drug test, the regulatory body has the discretion to license him. Legally, they can do so. In terms of public relations, however, it is yet another stink bomb in California thanks to Denise Brown, Awet Kidane, and Kathi Burns. You can thank the Department of Consumer Affairs for this taking place.
CSAC is re-licensing Berto three months after a failed VADA drug test. If Berto had failed a standard CSAC urine drug test for nandrolone, he would have been suspended by California for a year. The difference is that the VADA drug test failure cost him money, whereas a California suspension would have cost him time — but only after the fight with Victor Ortiz had (theoretically) taken place.
For those wondering why there was no public CSAC hearing to have the commission vote on whether or not Berto should be re-licensed… consider it a preview of coming attractions if/when the Department of Consumer Affairs attempts to sunset CSAC and make the decision making process entirely private with no level of transparency for the taxpayers.
Whenever politicians say or do stupid things, it’s best to get out of the way and let them continue to screw up. That’s exactly the case right now in California, which has become a punch line in all of combat sports. This is the same commission that is months behind in reporting event results & fighter suspensions to agencies such as Fight Fax & the ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions).
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
MLB, not UFC is on the Feds’ testosterone radar
By Zach Arnold | August 20, 2012
Jeff Novitzky, the FDA/IRS agent who has gone after some of the biggest names in professional sports (like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Lance Armstrong) is now reportedly going after San Francisco Giants LF Melky Cabrera for his usage of testosterone. The reason the Feds are allegedly interested is because of Cabrera’s camp supposedly plotting a defense of the testosterone usage by creating a web site to promote a fictional drug.
As John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle puts it, the plot is thickening. And I think it’s all nonsense from the Feds.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Failed power plays has DCA interested in sunsetting the California State Athletic Commission
By Zach Arnold | August 19, 2012
August 9th, 2012 video news report by ABC News 10 in Sacramento
Behind the scenes in Sacramento, there has been a whirlwind of activity that can only add to the legend of incompetence that the Department of Consumer Affairs has been highlighted for in regards to their mismanagement and interference in the business affairs of the California State Athletic Commission.
First, the TV stations in Sacramento are starting to pick up interest in what a mess the California State Athletic Commission has gotten themselves into. This News 10 report by John Myers highlights the station’s efforts to use Freedom of Information Act requests to get more information about where the money is going. Unfortunately, the report also relies upon already-debunked DCA propaganda touted in their infamous insolvency letter — including the claim that CSAC was $35,000 in the red to start the 2012-2013 Fiscal Year and that spending levels wouldn’t change, therefore CSAC would be in the red by $700,000. It’s completely false data and DCA had to admit that there was cash in the bank for the start of the 2012-2013 Fiscal Year and made this admission while still going for a loan from the state’s Department of Finance.
If you compare our articles to the other news reports on CSAC business affairs, you will spot some differences.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Why it should be OK for states like South Carolina to not sanction MMA
By Zach Arnold | August 15, 2012
On the heels of another death of an MMA fighter in South Carolina this past weekend, the lines in the sand were already (and predictably) drawn between the anti-MMA and pro-MMA forces.
Unlike the situation involving Michael Kirkham, the death of Tyrone Mims appears on the surface to be a situation that no one was likely going to be able to stop… if the adequate medical checks were actually performed before the fight.
As Eddie Goldman noted around the time of Michael Kirkham’s death, the situation for medical checks in South Carolina was/is a mixed bag.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |