13/02/2017
After another successful SFC I write to congratulate all fighters and thank a long list of people. There is also some important information regarding the promotion.
Starting from the top a thank you to the management of Lauriston Hall for hosting the event and keeping the booking despite a telephone call from Lothian and Borders Police mistaking the SFC for another promotion that encountered disruption at their last event. The show was nearly cancelled before it had even begun!
Thank you to:
Staff...
- Ross, Rob and Matthew for setting up the cage.
- Olivia and Nicole for serving alcohol courtesy of Karen McCormick at Silk Nightclub.
- Dunedin Facilities Management for supplying security, headed up by Danny Henry.
- Wayne Pearson for conducting Medical's and emergency care.
- John Lamb for being a fabulous and entertaining MC.
- Kier McCrimmon for manning the cage door.
- Alan Galloway, Grant Cruickshank and Rab Truesdale for judging.
- John Jamieson for refereeing.
- Cameron Galloway for applying Vaseline to the fighters upon entry to the cage.
- Szymon Makula for time-keeping.
- Paul Storrie for manning the Go Pro!
- Fiona Hamilton of McNichol Vehicle Hire for her fantastic van rental!
- My good friends Mark, Ian, Iain and Steven for helping the clean up operation!
- My wonderful wife for supporting me through these busy last few days!
- My friends for coming along and showing their support.
Teams...
All fighters , coaches and cornermen including James Doolan, Dean Reilly, Tony Carrick, Adam Stevenson, Henrik Affe and those supporting the independent fighters.
Sponsors...
- RG Autotech
- CSJ.co.uk
- SD Garage Doors
- Dunedin Facilities Management
- RDX
Fans...
For without you none of this would be possible!
Results...
Martin McCrone vs Ryan Harris - McCrone via Unanimous Decision
Adam Battley vs Darren Raeside - Battley via Unanimous Decision
Jordan Struthers vs Mattis Zaharovs - Zaharovs via Majority Decision
Richard Dickson vs Brian Lyons - Dickson KO by head kick at 00:41 in Round 1
Nathan Hughes vs Thomas Hepburn - Hepburn Submission by arm bar at 02:40 in Round 3
Graeme Armstrong vs Thomas Jessing - Draw
My Views...
In an interview given to The Sprawl MMA I picked Hughes vs Hepburn as the fight to watch and I think it was a good call. Both individuals have an impressive record and gave an outstanding performance.
I was pleasantly surprised at the ferocity of the McCrone vs Harris fight and absolutely delighted it was the opener for the evening. What a way to start the show!
It was brilliant to see two young contenders - Battley and Raeside - showcase their skills. Despite losing Raeside took home Fighter of the Night Award courtesy of RG Autotech.
Dickson's deadly kick ended his bout against Lyons surprisingly quick and certainly shocked the crowd with its precision.
Pro Bout - Graeme Armstrong vs Thomas Jessing
I feel it is important to state the my position on the outcome of the pro bout which was scored as a draw. The fight was impressive and I couldn't have called it but I feel I need to clarify the circumstances surrounding the bout and current situation.
Firstly, I am not a judge so my opinion is just that, an opinion. I employ three experienced individuals who have judged the majority of previous SFC events and place my trust in them to score each fight to the best of their ability. Also I cannot watch every second of every match due to my role and even if I could I do not know how to score correctly.
Secondly, like in most sports the ruling of officials are final. There is currently no appeals procedure in the SFC because an outcome has never been contested or queried for any prior event I have been part of. If I were to become involved in the scoring of any fight then I do not remain impartial and undermine the experience and position of each judge, something which I am not willing to do.
Thirdly, at the request of David Galbraith (Jessing's manager) a short meeting was held at the end of the event with each judge explaining how they scored each round and where they thought both fighters did well and not so well. At the risk of changing their outcome the judges have agreed to review any available footage and report back to me with their findings which I will then make public. Whatever the outcome there is always an unhappy party when decisions come down to the judges scorecards and that's the nature of such a sport.
Fourthly, all judges recommended that a re-match was the best possible way to resolve the dispute and despite it being uneconomical I have offered both parties that opportunity. I personally back the judges decision in a re-match as the fairest solution to the dispute.
Fifthly, with regards to the weigh in for this fight and in fact all weigh ins I was placed in an awkward position and so resorted to video recordings to accommodate the majority of individuals. I acknowledge that many fighters have full time jobs and taking time off work to attend a weigh in is not financially viable. I was contacted to authorise video weigh ins which I agreed too in order to avoid impacting the lives of those competing at the show.
Furthermore the flight Thomas Jessing was supposed to be on was full and he could not travel a day earlier due to work commitments. In the interests of honesty flights are never booked too far in advance as more often than not the fight card changes and the cost of paying for an in-used flight is simply to much to bear on a small independent promotion.
It is true Graeme Armstrong's weigh in was not accurate and his scales showed 300g less than the weight he placed on the scales but I could not watch the video as it would not play and tried on several devices. The video was forwarded to David Galbraith who then contacted me to advise of his concerns. I spoke to Graeme and he apologised but by then it was too late to weigh in again.
Graeme weighed in at 77.3kg. The maximum weigh allowed was 77.4kg and so assuming his scales were off by 300g he would have weighed 77.6kg, 200g over in total. In such instances a fighter would work this off and weigh in again however I acknowledge that is not the point of the issue. As a result Jessing's team requested 20% of Graeme's purse which the SFC paid for personally. Graeme was not deducted as it is my responsibility to check all weigh ins but due to technical difficulties I could not review his in time to ask him to re-do it.
I hope all fighters who will be part of the SFC in future will understand and accommodate my request for proper weigh ins going forward unless it is extremely unviable. It must be noted though that every other video weigh in was done on time and correctly and so I thank the fighters and their coaches for that.
As a fan, friend, journalist, fighter or coach I appeal to your good nature to understand that the relationship I have with every individual I come across in the SFC is very important to me but I will never be put into a position where I have to choose one side or another. I am happy to offer my opinion where it is needed and do everything in my power to ensure that all parties are happy. I am also keen to ensure transparency within the promotion which is why the above details have become public and direct from me.
As always the professionalism shown by each individual that was part of SFC12 was outstanding and it was a pleasure hosting another successful evening.
The next even is May 6th at the same venue with 50% of tickets already sold so please hurry if you'd like to see the action live. Visit www.thesfc.co.uk/event/sfc13
It was an absolute pleasure,
Khalid Khames.
ps Sorry if I've missed your name or misspelt it!
