The Need For Greater Regulatory Oversight Of Japanese Mixed Martial Arts
Ian Murphy was most definitely in too deep and the fact he was allowed to fight at DREAM.2 in April 2009 against Ronaldo Jacare underscores the profound lack of regulation and oversight of Japanese mixed martial arts. There really is no regulatory oversight of the sport or the actions of individual promoters. The fight culture rooted in sumo and continued in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts is extremely backwards. Fight promoters first, second and third priorities are making money. With the exception of the top stars, fighters are largely viewed as interchangeable and expendable. Mandatory drug testing is completely nonexistent and theres little elective testing by the individual promotions. Even the simplest steps to protect the fighters well being are unenforced or non-existent.
The fight between Ian Murphy and Ronaldo Jacare would have never been sanctioned in the United States. Murphy had just turned 22, and as of a couple of months prior to his DREAM 2 appearance was completing his senior season of wrestling at Cal State Fullerton. While he was a standout collegiate wrestler, he’d been seriously training for mixed martial arts for little more than a month. He’d never even had an amateur fight. While his athletic background definitely suggests potential as a MMA fighter he was essentially a novice.
His opponent at DREAM.2, Ronaldo Jacare Souza most decidedly was not. Jacare began training in judo at age 14 and later changed his focus to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Now 27, Jacare is a BJJ black belt and has been called one of the most feared submission grapplers in the world. That was evidenced in 2006 when Jacare fought former UFC heavyweight champ Randy Couture to a draw in a submission wrestling event. Jacare would have been a tough matchup for even his original opponent, tough veteran Frank Trigg. When Trigg pulled out less than a week before the fight DREAM parent company FEG approached Murphy who readily agreed.
The fight itself was essentially over before it began. Murphy was visibly nervous to the point of near panic as he made his ring walk. He could be seen taking a few deep breaths to steady his nerves. While any fighter would have felt a few butterflies walking into Saitama Super Arena for the first time, Murphys obvious apprehension transcended this. This underscored the reality that he hadn’t any real experience or knowledge competing or even training in a mixed martial arts environment. While his collegiate background is impressive, DREAM could have likely found an equally competitive opponent for Jacare on the street in front of the arena.
Jacare dominated the fight from start to finish, with Murphy’s strength and physical conditioning the only things that kept the fight going as long as it did. Murphy’s cornermen were clearly clueless about how to help their fighter. The end came when Jacare made Murphy tap out to a rear naked choke, evidencing that he’d had no experience on how to defend a basic MMA submission.
Ronaldo Jacare is the one player in this story that can be held blameless. He did what a fighter is supposed to do, which is to try to defeat his opponent to the best of his ability. Virtually everyone else involved in the fight bears some measure of culpability. DREAM’s promoters should have never offered Murphy the fight, and Murphy and his handlers should have never taken them up on their offer. Fortunately, Murphy was unharmed aside from a decent beating but the potential for tragedy in a situation like this is obvious.
Any legitimate regulatory oversight body would have done what everyone else involved did not by refusing to sanction this fight. In Japan, however, there isn’t any significant oversight of the sort and none focused on the well being of the fighters. In the United States, the sport is regulated by state athletic commissions in the same way as boxing. In Japan, the sport that grew out of professional wrestling is regulated in essentially the same way. That is to say like pro wrestling its largely anything goes in terms of rules, safety and other issues concerning fighter well being.
There have been some incremental changes to the Japanese fight sport world, specifically the creation of a Japanese Mixed Martial Arts Commission to serve as an oversight body for the sport. At this point, however, it is an independent entity and without some government involvement to give their regulatory efforts some ‘teeth’ they can’t have much of an impact.
Unfortunately, there’s no real mandate for change within the Japanese political culture. Even should a death occur in Japan, its unlikely that would spur much demand for stricter oversight of mixed martial arts. Perhaps the best near term catalyst for change is the Japanese fight fans who should hold promoters accountable for the way they treat and protect their fighters.
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