While most mixed martial arts promotions use a cage, Canadian MMA organization Maximum Fighting Championship has elected to stick with a ring.
“It’s been said pretty clearly to me that our fans, the ones who have continually supported us and come to the live shows for years, that they like the ring better than the cage,” MFC owner and president Mark Pavelich said in a press release.
The MFC was known as being one of the few North American MMA promotions to have its fighters compete inside a ring, but at MFC 29 in April they introduced a cage for its first event in Ontario.
The reason the MFC used a cage, which was well received by fans, for that event is because all MMA fights in Ontario are required by provincial law to be held in a cage structure.
Pavelich and MFC officials have considered using the cage for future events in other cities including Edmonton, but decided to stick to what they’ve done for years.
“MMA is a bit of a strange sport when it comes to watching the event live in person inside the arena,” Pavelich.
“You want to see as much as possible right in front of your eyes, yet how many times have we seen people, especially sitting a little bit further back, have to turn to watch a big screen TV just to see what’s right in front of them? It’s not logical. You’ve paid the price of your ticket to watch the fight on TV? That’s not right.
“Our fans watching the event live in person have expressed that they can see the fight better in a ring from any seat in the house. The craziest thing is my staff sits on the edge of the ring inside the barrier and when the fights were in a cage they couldn’t see across to the other side and they had to watch on a TV. That’s a pretty obvious message to me.”
Pavelich would not rule out the cage returning at some point, but for the time being the ring is king.
“I’ve always been an Owner that has listened to the fans,” Pavelich added. “Sometimes the suggestions are a little out there, but for the most part, the fans are correct. They are the ones who pay their hard earned money and they deserve the right to speak their minds, and for me and the MFC team to listen to what they’ve said.
“I love the fact that our fans are devoted and opinionated. They’ve had their say about everything from where we do the fights, the fighters they want to see, and about whether they like the ring or the cage. We’ve listened.”
The next event MFC event, MFC 34: Total Recall, takes place on Aug. 10 at the Mayfield Trade Centre in Edmonton.
