As a professional MMA fighter, you must learn the rules for every location you fight

[Free_MMAson]

When has ignorance ever been an acceptable defense?

If I was a professional fighter where so much is at stake, I would make sure I (or someone from my team) learned the specific rules for each location I was to fight beforehand since there will always be slight differences, as this could affect my well being, my livelihood or my advantage over my opponent. Since the rules for different Athletic Commisions are public Record, I would expect the onus to be on me as a professional athlete to be educated on the rules of the territory in which I am competing, and to research this now is as simple as Google or making a phone call.

Does Nick really have a case claiming that they should have informed him earlier of the rules, when he or his manager should have known the rules beforehand anyway when the rules are public knowledge? This way, if there was an abrupt change in the rules last minute, they could object to this since they knew the rules to begin with, and this would have protected them. At this level of competition, you cannot go into anything blind, and you or someone from your team must always do the homework.

 

[The Real Pedro]

I'm pretty sure Nick wasn't aware that takedowns were legal in that fight.

 

[A84]

Yeah fighters are very wary about PEDs because only some states allow them.

 

[chinarice]

When has ignorance ever been an acceptable defense?

If I was a professional fighter where so much is at stake, I would make sure I (or someone from my team) learned the specific rules for each location I was to fight before hand since there will always be slight differences, as this could affect my well being, my livelihood or my advantage over my opponent. Since the rules for different Athletic Commisions are public Record, I would expect the onus to be on me as a professional athlete to be educated on the rules of the territory in which I am competing, and to research this now is as simple as Google or making a phone call.

Does Nick really have a case claiming that they should have informed him earlier of the rules, when he or his manager should have known the rules beforehand anyway when the rules are public knowledge? This way, if there was an abrupt change in the rules last minute, they could object to this since they knew the rules to begin with, and this would have protected them. At this level of competition, you cannot go into anything blind, and you or someone from your team must always do the homework.

I was gonna mention something like this in one of the other 1000 threads about this stupid subject but closed my post before submitting.

If you traveled to another country that had different rules of the road and a cop pulls you over and fines you for not obeying said law, although it didn't apply in the country you are from, do you really think the cop is gonna be like, well, in that case, our bad. No fine.

 

[Free_MMAson]

I'm pretty sure Nick wasn't aware that takedowns were legal in that fight.

Yes, hahaha, already Nick's bitching about the video he posted on YouTube and its 'takedown' by the UFC.

 

[DOS 3point1**]

Nick didn't get enough sleep, yo.

 

[ShortBusDriver]

If you traveled to another country that had different rules of the road and a cop pulls you over and fines you for not obeying said law, although it didn't apply in the country you are from, do you really think the cop is gonna be like, well, in that case, our bad. No fine.

in canada

 

[Matthew C Scaro]

When has ignorance ever been an acceptable defense?

If I was a professional fighter where so much is at stake, I would make sure I (or someone from my team) learned the specific rules for each location I was to fight beforehand since there will always be slight differences, as this could affect my well being, my livelihood or my advantage over my opponent. Since the rules for different Athletic Commisions are public Record, I would expect the onus to be on me as a professional athlete to be educated on the rules of the territory in which I am competing, and to research this now is as simple as Google or making a phone call.

Does Nick really have a case claiming that they should have informed him earlier of the rules, when he or his manager should have known the rules beforehand anyway when the rules are public knowledge? This way, if there was an abrupt change in the rules last minute, they could object to this since they knew the rules to begin with, and this would have protected them. At this level of competition, you cannot go into anything blind, and you or someone from your team must always do the homework.

The contract nick signed was for a 170lbs title fight.

 

[Free_MMAson]

The contract nick signed was for a 170lbs title fight.

But that is the contract with the UFC. It is not the UFC who regulate the events, but the respective athletic commissions of the region where the fight is to take place. If I sign a contract with someone where there is something illegal in this contract based on the State where it was signed, I'm no lawyer, but I would think that would be tough shit for me enforcing the contract. We all know the expected conditions for the UFC events, but God is in the details.

 

[chinarice]

The contract nick signed was for a 170lbs title fight.

and that is what he got.

 

[bat_country]

The contract nick signed was for a 170lbs title fight.

In Quebec. According to the rules and regulations of the sanctioning commission in Quebec. Including what is a 170 lbs at a weigh in.
Which is what he got.

 

[Lucifer Alpha]

The QAC is inconsistent. They made Hopkins cut the decimal pounds in his first bout against Pascal.

 

[Free_MMAson]

The QAC is inconsistent. They made Hopkins cut the decimal pounds in his first bout against Pascal.

And that is why if the rules were read before hand and any deviations were found, they would have the high ground to make a formal complaint. All I am saying, is I (me personally) would want to know this sort of stuff before going into it to not look stupid, and to protect myself, especially at such an elite level of the game and A TITLE FIGHT!!

 

[Fawlty]

I wouldn't expect to know the intricate details of weight rules, no. There would be too many other things to focus on for the fight.

 

[Lucifer Alpha]

And that is why if the rules were read before hand and any deviations were found, they would have the high ground to make a formal complaint. All I am saying, is I (me personally) would want to know this sort of stuff before going into it to not look stupid, and to protect myself, especially at such an elite level of the game and A TITLE FIGHT!!

It's the job of a UFC official to keep fighters apprised of these sort of things.

 

[Free_MMAson]

I wouldn't expect to know the intricate details of weight rules, no. There would be too many other things to focus on for the fight.

OK fair enough, but this is why I said someone from my team (ie. my manager or the legal department we employ) should look into these things protect what is at stake. This is not some sale on at Walmart where you need to read the fine print, this is a million dollar title fight in the top MMA league in the world.

 

[HaulParris]

I was gonna mention something like this in one of the other 1000 threads about this stupid subject but closed my post before submitting.

If you traveled to another country that had different rules of the road and a cop pulls you over and fines you for not obeying said law, although it didn't apply in the country you are from, do you really think the cop is gonna be like, well, in that case, our bad. No fine.

This video is relevant to your interest (2 Russian tourists are speeding in Ukraine, and are pretending to not speak Russian to try and get out of a speeding ticket):

 

[Free_MMAson]

It's the job of a UFC official to keep fighters apprised of these sort of things.

OK difference of opinion - fair enough. For me, I would want to know this before the UFC even told me, so I would be in effect verifying that what they told me was correct, and if it wasn't I would be asking why there was a difference in what I read. I don't like surprises.

 

[...El Ray]

Condit and his camp were ignorant to the rules as well. What a shame, and a coincidence..

 

[Fawlty]

OK fair enough, but this is why I said someone from my team (ie. my manager or the legal department we employ) should look into these things protect what is at stake. This is not some sale on at Walmart where you need to read the fine print, this is a million dollar title fight in the top MMA league in the world.

I get what you're saying here, and I understand the point of this being such an important fight. But UFC weigh-ins? It's acceptable to take that for granted. You could use the "importance of a title fight" argument to blast anything that his camp may have overlooked. I don't see how they should assume the need to know all details of everything. They're worried about their man making 170.

After the fact, they're overreacting like crazy, obviously. Considering they have no evidence GSP was overweight, and besides it's less than one pound. They're nuts and acting like babies over this, but still I don't think they deserve criticism for assuming the rules would be a certain way.