Patry: Quebec Commission in ‘Very Bad Position’
Lutfi Sariahmed Feb 16, 2009
After a near riot at a Titans Fighting show and a change in
leadership at the Régie des Alcools, des Courses et des Jeux
(Alcohol, Racing and Gaming Division) of Quebec, promoters were
informed that the RACJ plans to adhere to rules in place since
1999.
Those rules put a couple of upcoming events in Quebec in jeopardy, most notably UFC 97 on April 18. Under the 1999 rules, no elbow or knee strikes are permitted. Stephan Patry, who has promoted more than 40 shows -- including the aforementioned Titans Fighting event -- during the last decade in Quebec, does not believe the commission has a leg on which to stand.
“To be real honest with you, I think the whole athletic commission
in Quebec right now is in a very, very, very bad position,” Patry
told Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” on
Friday. “They’ve been sanctioning the sport under the
unified rules for over 10 years and now all of a sudden there’s a
new president in place, and he decides, ‘Let’s enforce what we have
in the law books instead.’”
The RACJ has a subdivision -- its division for combat sports -- which operates similarly to athletic commissions in the States. The head of the subdivision had been Mario LaTraverse, who recently retired and was replaced by Richard Renaud. Patry does not think the change in the subdivision caused the current problems. He points to the change at the top and Denis Racicot, the new president of the RACJ.
Patry acknowledged problems with LaTraverse’s leadership, as well. Nothing, he said, was ever put in writing in the rulebook.
“Now back to Mario -- [he has] been doing lots of good for combat sports in Quebec, whether it’s boxing or mixed martial arts,” Patry said. “But I really don’t understand why in all these years he was there why he didn’t have the rules changed in the law book. I don’t understand why he was using the unified rules but never implemented them in the rulebook. I will never understand that. I can’t understand what happened there.”
Patry worked to avoid the current impasse.
“In the last 10 years, there have been numerous times where me and Yves Lavigne and other people have put pressure on Mario LaTraverse and his organization to put in writing the unified rules to make sure there wasn’t going to be any situation like the one we’re having right now in the future,” he said. “We were always getting the runaround.”
The push to adhere to the rules on the books picked up steam following the near riot that took place at the Titans Fighting show promoted by Patry on Feb. 6. Matches were originally booked under Strikebox rules -- Patry compares it to San Shou. However, the commission dealt Patry’s promotion a blow that nearly crippled it before it ever got off the ground.
“Two weeks prior to the event, the commission called us,” Patry said. “The president of the government agency that oversees combat sports called the director of combat sports, who approved our sport … so basically the commissioner … and told them, ‘Listen, let’s cancel that show. We have [had] meetings, and now we want to enforce the rules that are in place with the commission right now.’ Basically, two weeks prior to the event, they kind of [expletive] us with these rules that aren’t even the rules of MMA and rules that were written back in 1999 in Quebec.”
After meeting with lawyers, Patry decided to protest the decision. Before the protest could move forward, the commission sought out another meeting with the longtime promoter.
“Before we had a chance to meet with these people to oversee the rules with them, we had a meeting with the commission,” Patry said. “One of the inspectors of the commission told us, ‘Listen, the lawyers are not going to be there the night of the show. Talk to your athletes. Make sure they follow the rules you want them to follow, and we will talk to the referees and we’ll make sure that the show happens. Then, afterwards, we’ll see what the president of the governing body elects to do with that.’”
With that, a gentlemen’s agreement to keep the bouts standing was put in place between all the fighters. Up until the main event, everything went off without a hitch. There, James Thompson took down Steve Bosse and moved from side mount to almost full mount before the near riot started and the crowd started pelting the ring with debris. Thompson’s actions still perplex Patry.
“Thompson actually signed an agreement that he was going to follow those rules,” Patry said. “How can you explain that everybody that was in that meeting followed that gentleman’s agreement but one guy? Is he dumb? What’s wrong with this guy? You could even ask his manager, Ken Pavia, and he’ll confirm that James Thompson was present at all these meetings. The first thing Ken Pavia told me after the fight was, ‘I don’t know what the [expletive] he did. He [expletive] up.’”
The change in commission leadership, coupled with what happened at the Titans Fighting show, strengthened the RACJ’s resolve to revert back to the rules it has had on its books since 1999. Even though the rules are in writing, Patry questions the merit of enforcing them at this point.
“Right now, what the lawyers are doing … they’re trying to see with articles of law if they could use that to say, ‘Listen guys, you’ve been doing that for 10 years. There’s no way you can go back and change the way you’ve been doing things for 10 years,’” Patry said. “Apparently, and I’m not a lawyer, from what my lawyers are telling me, the commission cannot legally do what they’re doing right now. I think this whole thing will end positively for the UFC and mixed martial arts in Quebec, but right now it’s all in the hands of the lawyers. Like I said, I’m not a lawyer, but apparently they’re not allowed to do what they’re trying to do right now.”
Those rules put a couple of upcoming events in Quebec in jeopardy, most notably UFC 97 on April 18. Under the 1999 rules, no elbow or knee strikes are permitted. Stephan Patry, who has promoted more than 40 shows -- including the aforementioned Titans Fighting event -- during the last decade in Quebec, does not believe the commission has a leg on which to stand.
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The RACJ has a subdivision -- its division for combat sports -- which operates similarly to athletic commissions in the States. The head of the subdivision had been Mario LaTraverse, who recently retired and was replaced by Richard Renaud. Patry does not think the change in the subdivision caused the current problems. He points to the change at the top and Denis Racicot, the new president of the RACJ.
“Richard Renaud did a very good job since he started, because he
was very open-minded when we presented to him our new sport. I
think he’s a big fan of MMA, and he really wants to push forward
and do improvements,” Patry said. “He wants changes, but the
problem is above him. It’s the president of the government agency
that is kind of enforcing what’s in the rulebook and pretty much
forgetting what Mario has been doing for 10 years.”
Patry acknowledged problems with LaTraverse’s leadership, as well. Nothing, he said, was ever put in writing in the rulebook.
“Now back to Mario -- [he has] been doing lots of good for combat sports in Quebec, whether it’s boxing or mixed martial arts,” Patry said. “But I really don’t understand why in all these years he was there why he didn’t have the rules changed in the law book. I don’t understand why he was using the unified rules but never implemented them in the rulebook. I will never understand that. I can’t understand what happened there.”
Patry worked to avoid the current impasse.
“In the last 10 years, there have been numerous times where me and Yves Lavigne and other people have put pressure on Mario LaTraverse and his organization to put in writing the unified rules to make sure there wasn’t going to be any situation like the one we’re having right now in the future,” he said. “We were always getting the runaround.”
The push to adhere to the rules on the books picked up steam following the near riot that took place at the Titans Fighting show promoted by Patry on Feb. 6. Matches were originally booked under Strikebox rules -- Patry compares it to San Shou. However, the commission dealt Patry’s promotion a blow that nearly crippled it before it ever got off the ground.
“Two weeks prior to the event, the commission called us,” Patry said. “The president of the government agency that oversees combat sports called the director of combat sports, who approved our sport … so basically the commissioner … and told them, ‘Listen, let’s cancel that show. We have [had] meetings, and now we want to enforce the rules that are in place with the commission right now.’ Basically, two weeks prior to the event, they kind of [expletive] us with these rules that aren’t even the rules of MMA and rules that were written back in 1999 in Quebec.”
After meeting with lawyers, Patry decided to protest the decision. Before the protest could move forward, the commission sought out another meeting with the longtime promoter.
“Before we had a chance to meet with these people to oversee the rules with them, we had a meeting with the commission,” Patry said. “One of the inspectors of the commission told us, ‘Listen, the lawyers are not going to be there the night of the show. Talk to your athletes. Make sure they follow the rules you want them to follow, and we will talk to the referees and we’ll make sure that the show happens. Then, afterwards, we’ll see what the president of the governing body elects to do with that.’”
With that, a gentlemen’s agreement to keep the bouts standing was put in place between all the fighters. Up until the main event, everything went off without a hitch. There, James Thompson took down Steve Bosse and moved from side mount to almost full mount before the near riot started and the crowd started pelting the ring with debris. Thompson’s actions still perplex Patry.
“Thompson actually signed an agreement that he was going to follow those rules,” Patry said. “How can you explain that everybody that was in that meeting followed that gentleman’s agreement but one guy? Is he dumb? What’s wrong with this guy? You could even ask his manager, Ken Pavia, and he’ll confirm that James Thompson was present at all these meetings. The first thing Ken Pavia told me after the fight was, ‘I don’t know what the [expletive] he did. He [expletive] up.’”
The change in commission leadership, coupled with what happened at the Titans Fighting show, strengthened the RACJ’s resolve to revert back to the rules it has had on its books since 1999. Even though the rules are in writing, Patry questions the merit of enforcing them at this point.
“Right now, what the lawyers are doing … they’re trying to see with articles of law if they could use that to say, ‘Listen guys, you’ve been doing that for 10 years. There’s no way you can go back and change the way you’ve been doing things for 10 years,’” Patry said. “Apparently, and I’m not a lawyer, from what my lawyers are telling me, the commission cannot legally do what they’re doing right now. I think this whole thing will end positively for the UFC and mixed martial arts in Quebec, but right now it’s all in the hands of the lawyers. Like I said, I’m not a lawyer, but apparently they’re not allowed to do what they’re trying to do right now.”
