The one and only summer my parents chose to send me to summer camp, I got suspended for pushing another kid in a street-hockey game. In retrospect, it made me much angrier that the loser told on me than if he would have just sucked it up and continued playing the game. I still don’t understand why the dude chose to play street-hockey over tennis that morning. Whatever reasoning he had, I decided to push him around for the rest of the summer until he’d learn to stop telling on me. It took three or four weeks, but eventually he snapped, pushed me back, and after being punished together by our counselors to clean up the dining room, we immediately became friends. I actually still talk to the dude today. Turns out, getting suspended from camp led to one of the longest lasting friendships I’ve ever had. Unfortunately for the guys fighting on this Friday’s Shine Fights card, their suspensions will be a lot less fun and won’t lead to an extended bromance.
Last week, the Virginia State Athletic Commission decided that they wouldn’t sanction Shine’s original plans to host a fight at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Apparently the commission was less-than-pleased with the promoters allowing fans to vote on the matchups for the opening bracket of their lightweight tournament. Virginia proceeded to revoke Shine’s license to host their upcoming fightcard, forcing the promotion to relocate the event to Newkirk, Oaklahoma.
We know what you’re thinking: Yes, changing venues to a completely different state at the last minute is a huge inconvenience for the fighters, the fans, and the media alike. Besides logistical problems, promoters also need to post bonds as per the new state commission’s policies & juggle sanctioning restrictions. Shine Fights simply didn’t have enough time to get all that stuff done.
Today, MMArising.com has confirmed that all fighters who chose to participate in this Friday’s event are going to be doing so without an Oklahoma sanctioning body, state-appointed medical personnel, or any insurance from the OSAC that the promotion will pay the fighters for their performances this weekend. Furthermore, all participants will be suspended (expected duration = 60-90 days) for taking part in an unsanctioned event – during which time, they cannot compete for any other promotion.
MMA conspiracy theorists around the country have speculated that this has something to do with their failed May card that was supposed to feature Din Thomas vs. Ricardo Mayorga and the organization’s outstanding debts fighters scheduled to appear on that card. It could very well have played a role in why Virginia decided to pull the plug the event last week.
Shine Fights is slowly becoming the Lindsay Lohan of MMA. You want to like her because you see bits and pieces of potential, but every time you put your faith in her, she just gets drunk and ruins everything. We really hope that this mess gets cleaned up before the fighters take the stage on Friday. If not, we hope that nobody gets hurt and the fighters get paid. On a completely unrelated note, please don’t invite Lindsay Lohan to your afterparty, she’s becoming a bigger liability than a contractual commitment from Shine Fights. [Source]
