Criminologist brands Muay Thai & MMA a 'blood sport' : May 6th

Mixed martial arts combat sport and Muay Thai sport is coming under close scrutiny in Australia following a report from a prominent criminologist who describes cage fighting as a new blood sport.

Professor Rob White at the University of Tasmania has delivered a scathing indictment on MMA cage combat, saying it appears to have no rules with the fighters being able to freely punch, kick, elbow, throw, strangle and stomp.
His assertion is that MMA is being developed as a business that is "being sold as the new gladiator contest as a blood sport."
As part of a worldwide sport combat phenomena, MMA continues to grow in popularity in the Australian states where the state-run governments have appointed combat sports authorities to supervise all boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing and MMA events.
Each state nominates its own official judges and referees, but many sports analysts like Prof White are concerned that the health and safety regulations aren't sufficient.
"To the spectators, it appears to be no holds barred," said White, who argues that MMA should be tightly controlled "because it is inherently violent".
Some Australian states have banned cage fighting. In Victoria, the government's Combat Sports Board only allows MMA to be staged in standard boxing rings.
New South Wales requires that all professional MMA fighters be registered . All promoters in NSW must be licensed and are obliged to ensure that there are compulsory medical checks for all events.
The Australian government has urged all state sports administrators to mandate serology (blood) tests before all MMA fights are sanctioned. These tests are done to show fighters are clear of blood borne diseases like Hepatitis B and C, and HIV.
At the international level, MMA has been influenced by the rules and regulations of the US-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
In America, all UFC events come under the control of the state-administered Athletic Commissions, which appoint their own officials to oversee safety checks before, during and after all contests.
Outside of the US, MMA regulations vary in each country.
Across Asia and in Australia, MMA is being embraced by a plethora of martial arts disciplines that want to compete in a popular international combat sport.
The MMM World League has scheduled a series of championships to take place in Dubai, Kunming and Sydney later this year.
The league welcomes higher safety standards and advocates a review of the rules for all officially sanctioned contests in the octagon cage.
"We want MMA to be seen as a safe sport and we want the highest safety standards possible for MMA," said MMA World League chairman Christopher Wellesley Miller.
"What MMA critics don't respect, or even realise, is that most contenders for MMA championships in the UFC and the World League are highly skilled black belt martial artists. What should be understood by everyone is that
[martial] arts skills in the contest are regarded by the MMA practitioners, and most promoters, as being more important than the brute strength of the contest."
Miller said while MMA regulations "varied from country-to-country and state-to-state, organisers of MMA championship events would like to see one standard rules and regulations for all professional MMA contests."
The UFC with the US state government appointed commissions set the rules and regulations that have become the standard practice for MMA in America and the world.
"If any country wants to modify these rules they can do so, as long as the modified rules reflect the core value of the sport, which is that the skills and disciplines of martial arts are represented in all MMA contests," he said.
"What the World League is doing is providing the general guidelines for one rules and regulations for MMA in all of Asia, the Middle East and the Southern Pacific."
Calls for uniform rules and regulations in MMA contests will be discussed at the One Asia MMA Summit organised by the Singapore-based ONE FC.
The summit will be held in Singapore from June 1-3.
CEO and owner Victor Cui said ONE FC had formed a strategic partnership of gyms and sponsors. The three-day summit "will be an opportunity to harness the phenomenal growth of MMA in Asia."The concern of some Asian countries, including Thailand which has banned MMA cage fighting, is that MMA is being organised outside of the health and fighter safety regulations that apply to boxing worldwide.
As one MMA critic put it: "It's like being able to drive a truck but not having a licence. Nobody is really concerned until something goes wrong."
One main safety concern is that some MMA fighters are regularly stepping into the cage despite being concussed in previous contests, and are subjecting themselves to brain injuries.
Concussion isn't however just a concern for MMA cage combat _ it's been identified as a major health hazard for all physical contact sports.
Muay Thai is the important for MMA . So MMA fighters train muay thai in Thailand .