Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [79]
Goodman described Ultimate Fighting as a “disgraceful, animalistic, and disgusting contest which can result in severe injuries to contestants and sets an abominable example for our youth.” The press, including the influential New York Times, ate it up and ran story after story condemning both Battlecade and the UFC.
The uproar caused Governor Pataki to put a stay on the bill he’d signed, and a new bill was drafted to replace it that made a complete about-face on Ultimate Fighting. While the new bill began its route through the state senate and back to the governor, SEG continued to plan UFC 12 in Niagara Falls, knowing the bill wouldn’t get passed in time to shut down the show.
New York wasn’t done yet, though. Floyd Patterson, a former heavyweight boxing champion and the head of the New York State Athletic Commission, had his staff draft and present a 114-page rule book to Meyrowitz that would essentially kill UFC 12 in Buffalo. The rules included mandatory use of boxing gloves and protective headgear and also banned fighters from taking their opponents down or using any ground work. It basically melded the UFC into amateur boxing.
The week of the show, Meyrowitz took his complaints to court and argued that the state had gone back on what the two parties had previously agreed upon. Then we all headed back to Niagara Falls and waited for the judge’s decision, which was handed down at 2:30 p.m. the day before the show.
Since UFC 8 and 9 had survived the court’s scrutiny, Meyrowitz was confident the judge would rule in the UFC’s favor. However, unlike in the previous court battles, the NYSAC now had jurisdiction over Ultimate Fighting because of the first bill that Governor Pataki had signed. The judge ruled that the UFC had to follow whatever regulations the NYSAC presented to them, saying, “If you don’t want to follow the rules, then don’t put on a show here.”
Meyrowitz was flabbergasted, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t had any doubts. There was an exit plan. SEG had booked a small arena in Dothan, Alabama, about ninety miles outside Montgomery earlier that week, just for this situation.
However, no other arrangements had been put in place. Elaine had to scramble to find a way to transport nearly 200 people, including 20 fighters, their corners and entourages, some media, and all of SEG’s employees nearly 1,100 miles south within the next 12 hours.
Elaine rented a Boeing 757 to fly out of Buffalo and land in Montgomery, which was about a two-hour drive from the hotels and venue. She then reserved every room she could find in the area, including ones at the local Super 8 and Motel 6. The fighters would later be dispersed among the hotels, which made for a logistical nightmare when transporting them to and from the arena. In the end, I don’t know how much all of this cost SEG, but I’m sure it wasn’t pretty.
While Elaine made these preparations, I was sent around to the fighters’ rooms to tell them they wouldn’t be able to bring all of their cornermen, family members, and other guests on the plane. If people wanted to be at the show, they’d better get a car and take off now so they could make it.
At the airport, the crew added up the poundage for the Octagon, all the cameras and technical equipment necessary to produce the show, as well as the passengers and their luggage, and told SEG they were running dangerously close to the plane’s limit.
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Hearing this, Elaine told the fighters they could now bring one guest. The rest were asked to find a way down to Alabama on their own.
Before we left, the UFC hastily held its first ever weigh-ins in Niagara Falls. Each of the lightweight competitors stood on an ordinary household scale in view of his opponents. There was no crowd and no fanfare. It was decided that the heavyweights wouldn’t have to step on the scales because you could just tell by looking that they were all over 200 pounds.
That night, with everything