Cage Fighting to Debut in British Columbia

Love it or hate it, the controversial sport of professional cage fighting is set to debut in Penticton.

The International Fighting Championship is set for Aug. 15 in the Okanagan city.

Fighters locked in a cage use mixed martial arts and can punch, kick, knee, throw, choke and incapacitate an opponent using various arm bars and leg locks.

Biting and bending back an opponent’s toes or fingers are prohibited, as are spitting and pulling hair.

A bout can also stop if a fighter “taps out,” his or her corner throws in the towel or the fight is called by the referee.

Otherwise, just about anything goes.

Women fight under the same rules as men, and opponents are matched by weight and skill level.

Howard Petschler is the CEO and founder of IFC. He has a black belt in martial arts and has been cage fighting for more than 35 years.

Petschler said the Vancouver Boxing Commission would not permit the IFC and related events in that city, so he explored the possibility of taking the fighting sport to the Okanagan.

With its no-holds-barred, cage-match setting, extreme fighting has drawn its share of critics including local resident John Cornelissen.

“I believe it’s the wrong way to go,” said Cornelissen, who sees it as the glorification of violence, particularly among youth who are already bombarded with images of brutality and bloodshed in video games.

“Why should we have it in local entertainment? The reason we hold it is to make money but that is not the way to go.”

Petschler said the sport is misunderstood.

“I can tell you there’s centuries, if not millenniums, of history behind the martial arts, and that’s really what this is.”

He doesn’t dispute the fact that fans are attracted to the violent element of the fights.

With its punching, kicking, flipping and grappling moves, extreme fighting is simply a combination of various Olympic sports, he said.

“It’s so fast paced, and it has a perception of violence. That’s why it appeals to the younger generation, because it is so quick.”

Petschler said the IFC has changed its rules with respect to fighters’ safety and works with neurologists and medical advisory boards.

He noted the majority of injuries include dislocated and hyper-extended joints.

Sean Bacon, chief instructor at Penticton’s F.I.T.E. Club, a mixed martial arts business, is co-promoting the event.

“These are elite athletes,” said Bacon, a former military police officer and paratropper who served 12 years with the Canadian Forces.

Bacon said he works as a trainer with hockey players and members of the national freestyle ski team and that when it comes to conditioning, extreme fighters are top-notch.

“These guys train on a completely different level,” he said. “They’ve got to think on their feet (and) change their tactics on a dime.”