Safe MMA founder and trustee, Marc Goddard, referees for the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotions, including UFC and PFL. He is also President of the English Mixed Martial Arts Association (EMMAA) and former Head of Regulatory Affairs for the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF).
In interview, Marc talks about the founding purpose and ongoing work of Safe MMA, his work with EMMAA and what drives him in heading the push for well governed MMA competition.
Q: What prompted you to get involved in the Safe MMA project from the start and what were its founding aims?
MG: To be perfectly blunt, since my time as an official began, I was always trying to be at the forefront of “doing the right thing” …watching what shows were doing or, more importantly, weren’t doing and essentially trying to establish a baseline level of medical care, including pre- and post-fight. This is something that was and still is largely missing in the UK. I just wanted to be able to offer something that would enable credible promotions who cared about the sport and their fighters to adhere to a standard, baseline level of safety.
Q: What have Safe MMA’s biggest achievements been over the years, particularly in the UK?
MG: I guess the biggest achievement of Safe MMA over the years has been its engagement of people who didn’t have to comply by law, because the sport is still not recognised in the UK. But even if it was, there’s no legal requirement for promotions or fighters to meet any pre- or post- fight medical criteria. So, I guess the single biggest achievement was getting Safe MMA off the ground at all, and now, that it’s still prevalent. Going back, people thought it was mad to try to get the three largest (rival) promotions, Cage Warriors, UCMMA and BAMMA together in one room to agree on what we were trying to achieve. So, that was obviously a proud moment for me, and the fact that Safe MMA has gone on to become a registered charity, of which I’m a trustee, is also something I’m very proud of.
Q: How do you think approaches to fighter safety have changed in the UK and abroad since 2011 among fighters and stakeholders?
MG: Approaches to fighter safety have got better obviously, arguably for three reasons: Firstly, Safe MMA and the people who adhere to it. Secondly, through the UFC and MMA’s massive expansion into Europe and globally, and thirdly, with that, more international promotions signing up to Safe MMA, such as Bellator, KSW, BRAVE and PFL when they’re in the UK. With this growth, there’s also been an expansion and educational push into the grassroots.
The fact is, it’s kind of a double-edged sword here, because there’s two battles: First is the fact that the sport is not recognised (by government or official bodies) so it can’t be regulated. And the second part, probably you know, and the most daunting part is even if it was a recognised sport – something that we’re pushing for – there is still no legal requirement in the UK for fight sports, in general, to meet any medical standards. You’re actually reliant on the sport itself, if you like, or the promotions (voluntarily) doing that. So yes, the need for fighter safety has been pushed to the front with the expansion of the sport of MMA, but I think, without being short-sighted, we’ve still got a long way to go.
Q: How do Safe MMA and EMMAA support the work of federations and commissions?
MG: My work with Safe MMA and the English MMA Association go hand in hand. As I said, it’s a continual drive and a push, especially at a grassroots level where there is no money, but that should be no excuse for ignoring baseline or minimum levels of medical care and duty of care.
I guess it’s largely an educational drive, trying to educate promoters, coaches and athletes themselves. It’s saying that, look guys, if you want to compete in a combat sport, which we all know is inherently risky enough, we need to meet a baseline level of medical safety. For example, it’s been coming up in the sport for 25 years, the issue of bloodborne viruses. I’m happy for an athlete to bleed on me, and another athlete should be happy for his opponent to bleed on him but having a pre-fight blood test to make sure they’re not carrying any bloodborne viruses should just be common sense. But sadly, it’s not, and there is a lot of miscommunication and misinformation.
What we have with the English MMA Association now is an affiliate show program. And that’s not just covering the medical side but all areas of governance. We’re trying to incorporate baseline levels of duty of care across all areas of competition and coaching, such as officials training and licensing. But the sad fact of the matter is, as I said, that even if this sport was officially recognised tomorrow, essentially nothing changes. The emphasis, the duty of care and the responsibility would still fall on the promotions and or the governing body, which is us. And still, not every promotion or anybody putting on an MMA fight in the UK would legally have to work with us. However, our drive is constant and consistent and we’re doing everything we can as a federation: We will keep knocking on doors and keep on trying to educate.
Q: How does EMMAA currently work with promoters?
MG: On the promoter’s side, as I mentioned, we have the affiliate show program that puts voluntary sanctioning requirements in place. There are smaller local promotions out there who could plead ignorance about safety and governance matters, but what we’ve tried to do is separate the wheat from the chaff for want of a better description. It’s really been a case of trying to appeal to the better nature of promoters and responsible individuals and raise the level of awareness through education.
We want to see combat sports develop and grow in this country, but not at the cost of ignoring minimum safety requirements, such as, when it comes to fight night, making sure that the relevant healthcare professionals are there: a registered and qualified doctor, an ambulance, paramedics and so on.
It’s basically a moralistic standpoint that puts responsibility on the individuals involved.
At an international level, EMMAA has also “shadow-sanctioned” UFC, who in particular have been extremely generous towards giving us that visibility and credibility as a fledgling third-party commission. But their level of cover, their level of assurance when it comes to the medical requirements alone is obviously to a standard that is unrealistic for local promotions to try to adhere to.
But, like I said, we’re open to anybody and we’re here to help, so – promoters, please contact us at any juncture for any advice on anything.
Q: The recent government enquiry into concussion in sport put MMA under the spotlight, with the BBC commissioner called to justify the BBC’s broadcasting of Bellator. However, while larger established sports such as football were shown to lack independent medical oversight and to suffer from conflicts of interest, British MMA provides an independent monitoring service in Safe MMA that other sports lack. As EMMAA strives for recognition from Sport England, where you do see Safe MMA sitting in the mix?
MG: As time has evolved, even in non-combat-related sports you look at the inquiries, the research and so on that’s going on, for example around rugby, in which concussion is a big topic. There’s an awareness now of the potential lasting damage, which again leads us back to the importance of education and the need for awareness and responsibility to be growing in tandem with the sport, so we mitigate against the sport’s risks. Sometimes it’s not always about what happens in competition, where we’re there to try and make sure there’s a basic level of cover, but what kids are doing at the gym and the ongoing effects. So, it’s something we all have to work together on, and as I said, the door is open. We want to welcome everybody and anybody to the party, but they’ve got to understand what they’re undertaking. If you’re going to put on a combat sport or a local competition of any description, I’m all for you doing that, but please understand the level of responsibility that comes with that.
Q: Anything else you would like to add or say..?
MG: Yeah, I guess it’s just driving home that key word again, education, and also the fact that everybody has a collective responsibility. Ignorance is not an excuse when it comes to combat sports.
I’m all for local promotions and startup promotions who want to put the time, effort, and expense into helping the sport grow and giving youngsters a platform and getting people out there, but definitely not at the expense of the safety of the athletes and the sport as a whole. And even then, I mean, a basic level of safety. Like I said, just because there is no current guideline, lawful act or legislation to comply with in the UK, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be doing the right thing. That’s always been my standpoint when it comes to combat sports, specifically MMA, and for myself.
If youngsters or anyone else wants to compete in this sport, it’s about doing what you can, not just shirking the responsibility. That’s what I want people to do is understand that every single person has a responsibility in this sport. It’s not always just about the promoters. It’s about the coaches who are training these kids. It’s about the kids themselves who are going to compete. And from a fan point of view, not supporting local promotions who are just in favour of selling tickets and putting bums on seats at the expense of athlete care. Everybody in and around the sport, I’m going to say it again, has a responsibility to choose to do the right thing.
And burying your head, turning a blind eye or looking the other way, saying that we just don’t have to do it because that’s the way this country works, is just not good enough. Come on guys, we’re 25 years deep now in the sport in the UK. We need to put a line in the sand, disassociate ourselves from anybody employing bad practice and make sure that the sport is in good hands for the future.
For more information about the English Mixed Martial Arts Association visit: englishmma.org
