Prestige FC is getting ready to take over Weyburn, Saskatchewan on September 28, however according to a few different sources the show may not occur.
Erik Magraken of Canadian MMA Law Blog posted earlier this week that professional MMA is still illegal in Saskatchewan.
Prestige FC President refutes naysayers, event this Saturday will go down as planned
I have been advised by a Senior Policy Analyst for Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport that as of today this scheduled event is not sanctioned by the SMAA. Unless this changes this means that this event will be, on the face of it, in violation of section 83 of Canada’s Criminal Code.
The government further advises me that they are aware of this event and that “Conversations have taken place with the local police, city council (and) justice officials“. It is unclear if this event is still going to proceed but if it does we will all get a first hand glimpse of what the consequences of unsanctioned MMA will be in a post Bill S-209 world.
On Thursday’s episode of “In the Cage with Bards” hosted by former MMASucka.com columnist Carlin Bardsley, Prestige FC President Cord Crowthers shot back at the cynics.
Not one of these news sites or websites has contacted our office once, in fact we contacted them dozens of times and never had a phone call returned or talked to us. They are basing their information on hearsay and gossip. Our show is 100% going off on Saturday night. We at Prestige have been working feverishly over the last few months with the government in Saskatchewan. With the local powers that are going to be in charge of the commissioning of amateur sports, so we come can to a place where we can do a sanctioned show. There have been a lot of hurdles in the way and basically it has come down to digging their heels in and not trying to get things done fast enough. It’s a power grab here and there, but the bottom line is, our show is 100% going ahead. We have worked with the chief of police, the city council and the mayor of the city and they are all happy to have us. The rumors that you hear online are 95%-99% outrageous, the only thing that’s true is that our show is still a non-sanctioned show.
Obviously the one thing that came out of that interview, which was brought up by both the naysayers and Crowthers was the fact that the upcoming Prestige FC card is non-sanctioned. He gave a very honest answer.
The bottom line is we met with them on August 30, four weeks before the show along with the government. They absolutely felt that we could have the show sanctioned by the 28th. They told us they couldn’t get the show sanctioned by the 28th – we think that is absolutely untrue since they are doing a show two weeks after our show, just down the road and they have had plenty of time to sanction that show. It is a lot of he said, she said; I don’t like this person, I don’t like that person kind of thing. The SMMA needs to get off their butts, work with all the groups of Saskatchewan, stop playing favorites and realize they’re not a group; they’re a commission now. Their job is not to have me as a member, it’s to oversee my show and make sure we do things right. It’s what everybody wants, but they only want to work with their friends and their so-called partners.
Bardsley asked Crowthers specifically about the consequences of unsanctioned MMA which were posted on the Canadian MMA Law Blog site.
In my belief there is not going to be an effect on the fighters besides the 60-day suspension. They’re talking about us and trying to hurt us as a promotion.
As it stands, Prestige FC will go down this Saturday (Sept. 28) in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
