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Thursday, July 16, 2009
CSAC To Review Evangelista/Aina Fight In August
 The controversial ending to the inaugural May edition of Strikeforce "Challenger Series" is getting a second look.
Bill Douglas, Assistant Executive Officer to the California State Athletic Commission, says the headlining bout between Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina will be reviewed at an upcoming commission meeting on Aug. 26 in Los Angeles.
The fight came to an abrupt halt when it appeared that Evangelista threw an illegal knee to a downed Aina in the second round. Referee Herb Dean ruled Aina the winner by disqualification when he was unable to continue, per CSAC rules, prompting a chorus of boos inside the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.
The boos only intensified when instant replays revealed the blow had not struck Aina in the head, but rather under the armpit.
In an interview with MMAWeekly following the stoppage, Aina said he had no memory of the blow and was unable to continue due to pain that shot from his jaw to his ear.
Douglas said the commission will discuss the issues involved in the stoppage, but declined to say whether the disqualification could be overturned and changed to a no contest.Labels: Billy Evangelista, CSAC, Mike Aina
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 5:42 PM
Monday, June 15, 2009
Bill Douglas Back With CSAC
Bill Douglas, who in April vacated his position as Assistant Executive Officer at the California State Athletic Commission, is back on the job.
Douglas had accepted a position as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Department of Consumer Affairs, the state agency which oversees the commission.
"The (DCA) has been asking me to come back ever since I gave notice on April 17," wrote Douglas in an email to MMAInsider. "I finally took them up on their offer to return."
Initially, CSAC was without any senior leadership, but in June, interim Executive Officer Dave Thornton was appointed. Thornton had previously served with the Medical Board of California.
Douglas gave no details on the scope and length of his return.
Check back with MMAWeekly for updates on this story as they become available.Labels: CSAC
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 7:19 PM
Friday, April 17, 2009
Nick Diaz's Test Results for Drugs of Abuse
A week after he thumbed his nose at the California State Athletic Commission's drug testing policies, MMAInsider has learned the outcome of Nick Diaz's post-Strikeforce test for drugs of abuse.
According to Bill Douglas, CSAC's Assistant Executive Officer, they are negative.
In an interview with the LA Times the week before the fight, Diaz claimed he could beat the Accutest drug screens employed by the commission using herbal urine cleansers.
"Diaz was fine," wrote Douglas via email. "The test went through a full battery which checks for cleansing agents."
Though Diaz claimed to have a long history of getting stoned in his hotel room the night before a fight, in the end, the talk may have just been a smokescreen.Labels: CSAC, Nick Diaz
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 5:35 PM
Friday, April 10, 2009
Diaz Smokes, Douglas Responds
It's not breaking news that Nick Diaz smokes marijuana. A lot of it.
Since getting busted for a THC-rich bloodstream post-Pride 33, he's become an unofficial spokesperson for the plant.
Lance Pugmire's piece in the LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-mma-diaz-strikeforce8-2009apr09,0,5110887.story) did a nice job of capturing Diaz's, um, unique views on drugs in the sport, and he even got Diaz to thumb his nose at the California State Athletic Commission's drug testing procedures.
"I can pass a drug test in eight days with herbal cleansers," Diaz told Pugmire. "I drink 10 pounds of water and sweat out 10 pounds of water every day. I'll be fine."
In recent months, CSAC has upped their drug testing protocols, enlisting the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) certified lab used by the Olympics at UCLA.
Though the commission does not employ pre-fight testing like the Nevada State Athletic Commission recently did, CSAC assistant executive officer Bill Douglas told MMAWeekly he was very confident they were on the cutting edge of the anti-doping movement.
Douglas said Diaz's claim would be put to the test.
"We'll find out soon enough," he told MMAInsider.Labels: CSAC
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 2:58 PM
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Affliction Entertainment Granted Promoter's License In CA
Squeezed into the "hearing of the century" with plaster-fisted Antonio Margarito on Tuesday in Van Nuys, Calif., the California State Athletic Commission's addressed two small line items in a daylong meeting.
Affliction Entertainment, the muscle behind "Banned" and "Day of Reckoning," was permanently granted the ability to act as the "promoter of record" for its California based shows. Until Tuesday, the company had used the promoter's license of veteran boxing and MMA promoter Roy Englebrecht.
Clifton Chason, CEO of Affliction Entertainment, attended the meeting and was very positive about his company's future. He endorsed a July return for the upstart MMA show, saying "it's a date that's worked for us in the past," and said the company was in the midst of an aggressive expansion of their clothing line.
In other CSAC news, the commission re-formed a committee to "explore" amateur MMA in the Golden State. Advocates in attendance included Juanito Ibarra (who's soon opening his own gym in Orange County), "Big" John McCarthy, and former Elite XC executives JT Steele and Jeremy Lappen. The original push for amateur MMA stalled when its committee, former Executive Officer Armando Garcia, resigned suddenly in November.Labels: Affliction, CSAC
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 1:02 AM
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
CSAC Releases Official Gate Revenue for Affliction's "Reckoning"
The California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday evening released the final numbers for Affliction Entertainment's second show, "Day of Reckoning," held on Jan. 24.
13,318 fans watched the event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Though the number of paid attendees was not released, the total gate revenue for the event totaled $1,429,557.
The revenue is slightly less than a number reported on Jan.26 by Yahoo! Sports, that said the event produced $1,512,750 in revenue from 8,946 paid attendees.
In a press release issued the day after the event, Affliction Entertainment claimed that 12,335 were in attendance for the evening.
The total payroll for the event, as first reported by MMAWeekly.com, was slightly north of $3.3 million.
Vice President of Affliction Entertainment Tom Atencio said preliminary pay per view numbers should be available within the week.Labels: Affliction, CSAC, Tom Atencio
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 9:29 PM
Monday, November 24, 2008
No Drug Testing At Strikeforce "Destruction": UPDATE
MMAInsider happened upon something unusual on Monday when it spoke to the California State Athletic Commission to acquire live gate, fighter payout, and drug testing information.
A CSAC representative said no drug testing had been conducted for Strikeforce "Destruction" on Friday, Nov. 21st.
The lack of testing is an unexpected shift for an agency known to have the most comprehensive anti-doping program of any athletic commission in the country, as well as the strictest enforcement of the issue.
The representative gave no reason for the change, though MMAInsider has contacted interim CSAC office director Bill Douglas for comment.
The position of Executive Officer has been vacant at CSAC since the departure of it's former Executive Officer Armando Garcia.
UPDATE: Bill Douglas, now the official CSAC assistant executive officer, returned comment on the testing situation.
"I've cancelled all drug testing across the board while I revamp the entire process from start to finish," Mr. Douglas wrote in an email. "I expect the new and improved program to roll out next week."Labels: CSAC, Drug Testing, Strikeforce
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 1:24 PM
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