Regulator knocks back Perth bare-knuckle boxing bout
Western Australia's Combat Sports Commission board has knocked back an application from the Bare Knuckle Boxing Championship to stage a bout at RAC Arena next month.
In a release after the governing body, including commissioner Bob Kucera, met on Thursday to discuss the approval, a spokesperson said: 'After careful consideration, the board was not satisfied the event met the required criteria.'
Sport Minister Rita Saffioti had been under increasing pressure from the opposition and groups including the Australian Medical Association to use her veto powers as minister to stop the event, which was slated to he held at RAC Arena on July 19.
However, the government continued to back the event, with Saffioti on Thursday likening it to the UFC.
'This has been one where, of course, you consider all options, but I can't differentiate between this and UFC,' she said.
'For me to say no to this and then support UFC, I think people would rightly say that that was an inconsistent thinking.'
Labor lifted the ban on cage fighting after coming to power in 2017, which paved the way for the UFC to host two championship events at RAC Arena, with a further two events planned in 2025 and 2026.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is co-owned by former UFC champion Conor McGregor, who is currently appealing an Irish court civil jury verdict in November that he had raped a woman in Dublin in 2018.
The main event of the Perth fight, dubbed BKFC 79, was to be BKFC heavyweight world champion 'Big' Ben Rothwell taking on Australian powerlifting champion Alex 'Godly Strong' Simon in a super heavyweight non-title fight.
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