Shine Fights recently announced that it was moving it’s lightweight Grand Prix from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia to the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma. This was due to of safety concerns by the Virginia athletic commission over the “fan matchmaking” promo by Shine Fights.
Now MMARising.com has learned that the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission will have “zero involvement” with the event also.
While the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission frequently works in partnership with native-owned casinos in Oklahoma and oversees mixed martial arts events that take place within, that will not be the case on Friday. Should the event still go ahead as planned, Shine Fights will not be operating under the guidance and rules of the OSAC. This was a conscious decision made by the promotion in order to utilise its proposed format for the one-night, eight-man lightweight tournament. The tournament winner will be required to fight and win three times in a single evening.
Such tournaments are rarely supported in North America and it was not a surprise when the Virginia and Oklahoma commissions opted not to sanction this event. Additionally, fighters who compete in unsanctioned events in Oklahoma have been subject to suspensions – typically 60 or 90 days – from the OSAC in the past. That policy may come into effect here.
Lets hope that this doesn’t turn out to be another failed event for Shine Fight Promotions like the May 15th card which fell apart after the main event was canceled.