ABC to improve trainer certification, have ‘bands’ that rate MMA officials

Tuesday was a big day for the MMA community as the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) voted near unanimously to approve six rule changes dealing with the judging criteria, eye pokes, grounded fighters and more. In the session immediately afterwards, the focus turned to those who train MMA and boxing officials.

Veteran MMA official John McCarthy and current ABC president Mike Mazzulli spoke during the session and described how, under the current system, trainers submit their teaching criteria to the ABC for approval, but there is no standardization.

“We have to make sure everyone’s doing the same stuff,” said Mazzulli. The idea is that ABC-certified trainers should all use the same criteria. While their courses may not necessarily be taught the same, their criteria should at least be standardized.

McCarthy described seeing an ABC trainer’s syllabus that was “just wrong.” Mazzulli told the audience of combat sports regulators about receiving e-mails from ABC-certified trainers he wouldn’t even recognize, telling him a new group of students just …

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