Mr. Beelzebub
11-07-2003, 10:11 AM
From www.mmaweekly.com :
It's been over 8 years since Pat Smith has entered the UFC octagon... and it looks like it's still going to be a little bit longer than anticipated. Though everyone was expecting him to face Frank Mir at the UFC's Anniversary Show, 10 years after the UFC and Pat Smith debuted at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it just doesn't seem meant to be.
Yesterday, Pat Smith's manager Sven Bean was told that the fight was off. Basically, the situation stems from a boxing suspension that Pat Smith received in 1996 and has yet to be reinstated from in Nevada.
Although the suspension stems from boxing and not MMA, in the eyes of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, it doesn't matter. As in this instance, if you are suspended from an incident that took place in a boxing forum, you aren't allowed to compete in MMA in the state either and vice versa. Pat was unaware of this fact, having fought many times since that suspension and never having a problem. His management was unaware of the suspension.
The fight with Mir was supposed to have taken place at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, so why did the suspension in Nevada matter? Because the UFC honors the suspensions handed down by Nevada no matter where they run a show. Thus, they didn't want to risk Smith not being reinstated in time for the November 21st show.
As quickly as these things happen, talk about the situation starts to spread across the internet and along with that talk is usually some misinformation to go along with it. Such is the case here. Since the news broke yesterday, there has been talk that Pat failed his medical tests for the fight. Not so says Bean,
"Pat has passed every test that he's taken, it's not because of medicals. All I can say is that I'm really disappointed with the bureaucracy of the situation." So it is not the medical tests that Pat had to take for this fight, but the matter of the suspension from 1996. Unfortunately, Bean was unable to comment further last night, but he will be on Sound Off on MMAWeekly Radio today with Ryan Bennett.
Unfortunately, the impression by most people close to the situation, though we have no official word from the UFC regarding this matter yet, is that with Pat Smith out at this late date that Mir's fight is most likely off completely as well.
It's been over 8 years since Pat Smith has entered the UFC octagon... and it looks like it's still going to be a little bit longer than anticipated. Though everyone was expecting him to face Frank Mir at the UFC's Anniversary Show, 10 years after the UFC and Pat Smith debuted at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it just doesn't seem meant to be.
Yesterday, Pat Smith's manager Sven Bean was told that the fight was off. Basically, the situation stems from a boxing suspension that Pat Smith received in 1996 and has yet to be reinstated from in Nevada.
Although the suspension stems from boxing and not MMA, in the eyes of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, it doesn't matter. As in this instance, if you are suspended from an incident that took place in a boxing forum, you aren't allowed to compete in MMA in the state either and vice versa. Pat was unaware of this fact, having fought many times since that suspension and never having a problem. His management was unaware of the suspension.
The fight with Mir was supposed to have taken place at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, so why did the suspension in Nevada matter? Because the UFC honors the suspensions handed down by Nevada no matter where they run a show. Thus, they didn't want to risk Smith not being reinstated in time for the November 21st show.
As quickly as these things happen, talk about the situation starts to spread across the internet and along with that talk is usually some misinformation to go along with it. Such is the case here. Since the news broke yesterday, there has been talk that Pat failed his medical tests for the fight. Not so says Bean,
"Pat has passed every test that he's taken, it's not because of medicals. All I can say is that I'm really disappointed with the bureaucracy of the situation." So it is not the medical tests that Pat had to take for this fight, but the matter of the suspension from 1996. Unfortunately, Bean was unable to comment further last night, but he will be on Sound Off on MMAWeekly Radio today with Ryan Bennett.
Unfortunately, the impression by most people close to the situation, though we have no official word from the UFC regarding this matter yet, is that with Pat Smith out at this late date that Mir's fight is most likely off completely as well.