Former UFC Fighter Tim Hague dead after suffering brain injury from KO.

[Salmonberries]

Alberta has long been considered a backwater where you could get almost any fight sanctioned. An extremely weak regulatory regime there. Apparently this referee, Len Koivisto is his name, very nearly oversaw the death of another fighter in Alberta, this time a female fighter in the mma arena was nearly choked to death in 2011. We can only thank God that Kim Couture did not suffer the same fate as Tim Hague. RIP.

 

Kim Couture vs. Sheila Bird Referee Not Disciplined By Calgary Commission

 

Photo by Charles Penner via Sherdog

The fight between Kim Couture and Sheila Bird at Ax Combat in Calgary earlier this month ended in a shocking moment that ended up being the talk of the MMA world. Bird locked in a scissor choke that had Kim go unconscious for somewhere between five and ten seconds before the ref called a halt to the bout. Following review of the film many MMA fans and media members called for referee Len Koivisto to be disciplined.

 

So what is a commission (in this case Calgary) to do when a situation like this arises? Apparently nothing (via MMA Weekly):

"As standard practice, debriefing meetings are always held amongst commission members and officials following any supervised combative sports event held in Calgary. The committee discussed the call made by the official for the Couture vs. Bird bout. It was determined that a formal review would be conducted of the circumstances surrounding that call. After an in-depth investigation, the Calgary Combative Sports Commission members rendered a decision to support the official, Mr. Len Koivisto. No further action or investigations into the officiating of Mr. Koivisto will be required by the Commission. Mr. Koivisto has been involved in the combative sports industry for close to 40 years, the last 23 in various officiating capacities. He is a well respected boxing referee (nationally and internationally) and has officiated MMA (nationally) for several years in various jurisdictions in close to 400 matches without incident. He has always taken his ring official's duties very seriously and conducts himself with a great deal of professionalism."

Oh, it's okay everyone. Koivisto has been involved in combat sports for a long time. A call that clearly endangered the health of a fighter, even if a mistake, deserves no punishment because he takes his duties seriously. Using his reputation as a boxing referee does nothing to provide defense of his understanding of submissions, the area of his failing in this case.

 

Compare this to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board suspending three judges from Paul Williams vs. Erislandy Lara and forcing them to undergo training for scoring that seemed to their commissioners to be clearly incorrect. You can see the difference between a commission that holds its officials responsible for their actions and one that is simply going to go along with the status quo because that's just how it is done in combat sports.

I don't know Koivisto, maybe he has a flawless history as a referee. But if you're not evaluating and disciplining your judges and referees on a case-by-case basis, you're not doing it right.

 

Weak move, Calgary.

 

 

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/7/22/2288315/kim-couture-vs-sheila-bird-choke-referee

[Salmonberries]

42 minutes ago, elvis15 said:

Unless they didn't think he had a realistic chance, I don't see why they wouldn't sanction it. Clearly it wasn't just him getting beaten to a pulp in the first round, or else he wouldn't have made it that far, but there's a point where they should have realized it was over.

Did you look at the clip? Fighters are comprehensively listed according to record, level of competition and skill level and assigned graded ratings of A, B, C etc. This figyht, given these factors should obviously never have been sanctioned ands even a cursory glance at the recorded in-ring 'action' makes this demonstrably clear, I think @elvis15

[Salmonberries]

The promoter: https://www.facebook.com/KO-Boxing-Canad...985284636/ http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/10/24/ed...bat-sports "KO Boxing carries the torch for fans with a traditionalist viewpoint of the fight game. Promoter Melanie Lubovac is the daughter of top-flight boxing trainer Milan Lubovac and is well-regarded for her presentation. “She’s a first-class promoter,” said Edmonton Combative Sports Commission executive director Pat Reid. “She always puts on good fight cards. Very well run, very well organized. I’m happy to see KO being run by Melanie. It’s fantastic.” http://koboxingcanada.com/ http://boxrec.com/person/565632?role=promoter

[Salmonberries]

Matt Hughes' condition updated here:

 

 

Former UFC champ Matt Hughes stable but still not awake following truck collision with train

 

http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/story/former-ufc-champ-matt-hughes-stable-but-still-not-awake-following-truck-collision-with-train-061817

 

 

[elvis15]

On 6/18/2017 at 6:05 PM, Salmonberries said:

Did you look at the clip? Fighters are comprehensively listed according to record, level of competition and skill level and assigned graded ratings of A, B, C etc. This figyht, given these factors should obviously never have been sanctioned ands even a cursory glance at the recorded in-ring 'action' makes this demonstrably clear, I think @elvis15

And what what the comprehensive listing for both fighters before the match was sanctioned? I saw the clip, and Hague started off looking ok even if that changed. Given his experience as a fighter in general it's reasonable to assume this becoming a lopsided affair wasn't a forgone conclusion. If you have more detail other than an 8min clip, feel free to share.

 

But apparently it was so clear to you that Hague shouldn't have even taken the fight, let alone anyone sanction it. Someone should have told Hague and his trainers that if it was so obvious.

 

RIP Tim.

[Salmonberries]

Just now, elvis15 said:

And what what the comprehensive listing for both fighters before the match was sanctioned? I saw the clip, and Hague started off looking ok even if that changed. Given his experience as a fighter in general it's reasonable to assume this becoming a lopsided affair wasn't a forgone conclusion. If you have more detail other than an 8min clip, feel free to share.

 

But apparently it was so clear to you that Hague shouldn't have even taken the fight, let alone anyone sanction it. Someone should have told Hague and his trainers that if it was so obvious.

 

RIP Tim.

Well basically Braidwood is a former first overall CFL draft pick who is obviously a very serious athlete and who, when he isn't in jail for beating his ex, trains boxing full time with top level sparring partners and apparently roids heavily. He is currently the #9 ranked heavyweight in Canada. Tim Hague is a semi skilled hobbyist who is teaches kindergarten and fights part time. usually losing. He is a better and a more experienced mma fighter than he is a boxer, though still not very good one, C level in mma, lower than that in boxing. The respective records were 8-1 for Braidwood, 1-2 for Tim. In addition to that he took the fight on short notice and was completely unprepared both conditioning wise and tactically for such a tough opponent.

 

And this commission has put the safety of fighters at risk with questionable practices like letting Rameau Sokadjou  take his gloves back to his apartment the night before the fight and doctor them up. Gloves have been taken home on at least two occasions by marquee fighters headlining cards in Edmonton. This commissions has a real stench around it that I hope is cleaned up in the wake of this tragedy. It's a shame that it had to come to this though obviously. I don't really know what else to say around this @elvis15 accept that if you really can't discern that this was a very bad mismatch by watching maybe check out the reaction on some of the boxing and mma forums just to get a sense of what the fans who follow the sport closely, and some fighters themselves think. I know Ryan Ford was in the audience and he thought pretty much as I do. Tim Hague was really nice guy too, a kindergarten teacher ads I said. It's sickening.

[Salmonberries]

Just to be crystal clear, this match could not have been made in a more reputable regulatory jurisdiction like Nevada, New York, California or Texas.  It's simply not on.

[riffraff]

8 hours ago, elvis15 said:

And what what the comprehensive listing for both fighters before the match was sanctioned? I saw the clip, and Hague started off looking ok even if that changed. Given his experience as a fighter in general it's reasonable to assume this becoming a lopsided affair wasn't a forgone conclusion. If you have more detail other than an 8min clip, feel free to share.

 

But apparently it was so clear to you that Hague shouldn't have even taken the fight, let alone anyone sanction it. Someone should have told Hague and his trainers that if it was so obvious.

 

RIP Tim.

You're straight up wrong here.  Accept it.

[elvis15]

1 hour ago, riffraff said:

You're straight up wrong here.  Accept it.

My point is based on the limited info we had from the OP, there wasn't anything other than Hague not being able to keep up in the fight to suggest this wouldn't have been sanctioned. The only info I had was an obviously very bad result in hindsight, I asked based on the information that would have helped in foresight to be a reason why the fight wouldn't be sanctioned. SB mentioned fighter rankings and all that but didn't specifically say what they were for each fighter until the post above.

 

Hague isn't some chump who walked in off the street to try and earn $500 against the champ, so I could see based on the limited info I had why the fight would be sanctioned. Simple as that.

 

9 hours ago, Salmonberries said:

...

In addition to that he took the fight on short notice and was completely unprepared both conditioning wise and tactically for such a tough opponent.

...

The odds seem stacked against him; again I ask why he and his camp even took the fight if it was such a foregone conclusion? Purely money motivated?

[CanadianRugby]

Sad.  I remember his first fight.  Boxing/Kickboxing is brutal, way more damaging than MMA.