Cage Warriors CEO’s battle with the Swedish MMA Federation became public yesterday, as Graham Boylan posted on Facebook his displeasure with the ruleset being offered during their first trip to Sweden.
“SMMAF ( Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation ) are about to lose Cage Warriors for Sweden they have 24 hours or the main card will move to Amman Jordan. Not good for the development of Swedish MMA & very sad to see. I feel sorry for the fighters and the clubs who have been working hard to make this event happen but having one rule for one organisation and a different set for another is not how it works. More news will follow on this as it unfolds.” posted Boylan on Facebook yesterday.
Just last month, Cage Warriors were building the excitement for the card. “Stockholm Sweden you’ve got Cage Warriors 71 congrats, see you August 23rd” stated Boyland about the card and the second in Scandinavia after its debut CWFC 66 in Copenhagen earlier in the year.
SMMAF has long set a stance of not allowing unified rules in any matches, except those in the UFC and select bouts on cards contested between the most experienced fighters (Jeremy Horn versus Thales Leites at Superior Challenge for example). The four rules that are not allowed are:
1. Elbows
2. Foot stomps
3. Upkicks to the head from the ground
4. 60 second breaks between rounds (instead of 90)
It seems that this is at the heart of the discussion that may put the CWFC 71 card in jeopardy.
We will have to wait until later today to see if the card in part or all moves out of Stockholm’s Solnahallen on the 23rd of August.
