Australia weighs-in on the banning of the cage in Western Australia

Anger.

That was the first thing I experienced when I saw that the cage was being banned in Western Australia. As a resident of Victoria, the only other state to forbid caged combat sports I have tried to do my little part to educate the masses on the safety benefits of using a cage.

It took me a moment to compose myself and to really put my mind to it and to be honest, while I don’t agree with it I can understand it. We are dealing with politicians who have a passing understanding of this sport that involves fighting inside a cage, that sounds barbaric and something that should be in a snuff film rather than televised in prime time on a major network.

While the cage has served as a major benefit to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts in general it has also held it back. You cannot deny that the violent image of a no-holds-barred fight inside an eight-sided cage was a major attraction in the early-nineties but because of the marketing of the blood sport it has probably done as much bad as it has done good, maybe even more.

It’s a real argument that deserves being debated so I put the task out there to my Australian counterparts to lay down their opinions on the issue. Media and fighters alike answered the call of duty as we got a bunch of interesting viewpoints from us that closely observe from the cage-side and those that go to war on the inside.

I was surprised to learn that Western Australia is looking to ban the use of the cage from March this year. I am dumb-founded by this decision. Obviously they have no issue with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as it will continue in it’s current for but in the confines of a ring. What it tells me is that the Government has no interest in fighter safety but is rather more interested in outlandish policy in attempt to “appear” to be doing something.

I would be interested to know the reasoning behind this decision. MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the World and the rules across the planet that this sport is done in a Cage. The Cage is there for safety. Yet the WA Government is saying, safety isn’t an issue because we don’t want you (the fighter) to compete in the safest arena possible. I believe that they may be leaving themselves open to litigation if anyone is injured due to the use of a ring (falling, getting thrown or knocked out of a ring). I have seen this happen numerous times in the ring. Something that doesn’t happen in a cage. If a fighter gets injured a promoter can quite easily say that it’s not my call, the government insists that I use a ring and not the safest option, the cage, they are responsible.

What is the WA government thinking? I hope they change their mind, for the safety of the MMA competitors in WA. I’m not even thinking of the loss of revenue they are missing out on because the UFC won’t go to a state that doesn’t allow the cage. As a Sydneyider their decision just means more shows for me over here, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.
– Elvis Sinosic, retired Australian mixed martial artist and former UFC light-heavyweight title-challenger

Getting the cage ban uplifted in WA is simply a matter of education. People tend to take hard line stances on things if they don’t understand them. I doubt very much that the rule makers have bothered to read any documentation around the safety of fighters improving when there is a cage in place as opposed to a ring.  With time, understanding and a (quickly) changing public perception of MMA, we should see the ban overturned. I predict that MMA will take place in a cage, in every Australian state and territory within the decade.
– Adam Ireland, contributing writer at NineMSN.com.au

“The use of the cage in Western Australian MMA shows will be prohibited as of March 2013.”

I can honestly say when I read this I was sad, really SAD.

I have fought internationally in combat sports on mats for ADCC, BJJ, Sambo, in the ring MMA and in the cage MMA and of all three I can tell you I feel safest in the cage and that even includes the sport where people are not trying to hit me in the face.

I have seen people be run/ thrown off the mat into spectators,barricades and officials tables or simply the floor around the mat, be it wood or concrete. Often resulting in injury I have seen people fall from the ring and have to suffer a drop to the floor below usually a 1m or so down. I personally have never seen someone ejected from the cage. I’m not saying it cannot happen. I know there is a YouTube video of fighter falling out a caged door that wasn’t locked, but there are also videos of ring ropes collapsing because of incorrect setup.

The banning of the cage just makes the sport of MMA a whole lot less safe. The cage is there to protect and contain the fighters. A ring while it is fine for Boxing and kickboxing, most of the times, as these fighters also sometimes fall out as well, it is not adequate for MMA.

MMA works at all levels, on the ground, standing and flying through the air (for throws and takedowns). The use of a ring, especially a boxing ring or Kickboxing ring leaves fighters at a high risk of falling out, either by going under over or thru the ropes and suffering injury from the fall to the ground the results. I say Boxing/Kickboxing ring because an MMA ring is slightly different it has an addition fifth rope just above the ground level, to help contain fighter working on the ground, while a boxing/Kickboxing ring only has 4 with the lowest being at mid shin height.

My first 5 pro MMA fights where in a Boxing ring and the fear of falling or being thrown out of the ring was very close to the top of my thoughts. My 6&7th fights where in the cage and I felt so much safer could concentrate on the job at hand and what I needed to do because know from experience at training that I cannot fall out. My most recent fight was in an MMA ring, there was a 5th with I was very happy about, but honestly I still would have preferred the cage for safety.

I know at one point I was thinking more about not falling out that advancing and getting out of a bad position so really there is a safety compromise even in the safest ring.

Why the WA government did decide it was safer for MMA to a ring rather than a cage? I don’t know, I haven’t read much more than the headlines. But to me it seems it’s like saying all motor cycle riders now have to wear push bike helmets because they don’t look as intimidating to people.

True that may be the case but it isn’t the safest option. True the image of a “Cage” may have been used initially as a marketing gimmick, the whole” two men enter one man leaves “locked in a cage to fight it out to the” death” but the sport has evolved. It’s not No Holds Barred fighting anymore, and hasn’t been for a very long time. MMA has grown up, it’s a combat sport and if no one else noticed there is a third person in the cage, the ref to make sure rules are followed a fighters remain safe.

On the most part we involved in the sport realise that the cage, with its padded uprights, plastic coated chain link and matted floor is one of the safest places to be and let us hope the WA government works that out as well sooner rather than later.
– Fiona Muxlow, Australian female mixed martial artist

With regards to the cage ban in WA, I consider it a poorly informed decision that may be based more on image than safety. One of the last MMA events in a ring of 2012, Australian Fighting Championships 4, is an indicator of how dangerous the ring can be to the athletes and officials. Two competitors and the referee fell outside the ropes. This is because ropes are not a stable enough barrier to prevent people conducting wrestling, grappling and judo throws from falling. Due to the elevation of the ring a fall can be quite dangerous. This is not a new issue in fight sports. Legendary USA heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey fell on to the press gallery, who gave him a leg up to get back into the fight, in the 1920s.

If the WA government wanted to take a considered approach, with members from the MMA community represented on the deciding board, or at least a willingness to take a submission from the MMA community then there may be a more reasonable approach aimed at protecting athletes. The ban reversal in SA and soon Vic has demonstrated the results of decisions based and a fair and impartial review process. Having decision boards and advisors from a primarily boxing background making decisions for a separate sport is neither fair nor impartial. Do Trap (Clay) Shooters advise on Archery for the Australian Olympic Council? Why are Boxing and MMA any different? Leave the ring for Boxing and the Cage for MMA.

The WA decision to ban the cage may be contributed to by the term ‘cage’ which evokes a barbaric idea in the minds of the uninformed. Terms such as octagon, hexagon can alleviate this, but as some of these are trademarked, it seems the term ‘cage’ is here to stay. If this is the case, the MMA community has to make sure we inform as many people as we can in order to dispel the idea that a cage fight is an unskilled brawl with no rules. We ran a series of articles on our site last year regarding Victoria’s ban, and they will be available from again from 20th January for those that want to learn more.

It is sad to see a great state, such as WA, regress in terms of progress. The fact that the cage was allowed and there was NO overwhelming public outcry or calls for its removal makes this decision seem all the more confusing.
– Mick Cook, writer and photographer at NoGloves.com

‘We are already fighting one state on this subject and now we have another trying to go backwards. These people really need to be educated on the sport and once we do get the ban overturned in WA hopefully we can get the ban lifted in Victoria as well but it will need everyone to get behind it. Also they should think about the money it will bring in if the UFC visits, it will be a lose/lose situation for them if they don’t devide to lift the ban.’
– Josh Mercer, contributing writer at H-4Entertainment.com