C.A.M.O. Killing Amateur MMA in California

I wonder if you sponsored an ammy event in CA and you put your logo on the ammy fighter’s rash guard, who would receive the money? CAMO?

Very good article! It is robbery what they are doing to fighters that love this sport and know that maybe they will never become pro but put on a performance for us! Non profit…my ass!!!!

225$ for a amateur fighter is a lot money. Most fighter don’t have a big money flow. that more them most gyms

As a MMA coach i know the imortance of bringing new fighters up the ranks, here in uk if i had to ask for the 225$ thats being asked for in CA , i think i would be out of new talent, for MMA to continue to grow and push out the new randy coutures, matt lindlans, A nogera, and the like we need to keep the doors open and not closed…Please CAMO help the sport of MMA and think about those struggling to reach the middle and top ranks…

as a former ammy fighter (but not pro) in cali, i gotta say at least there IS an ammy org out here now! sucks that camo is doing all this, but to fight in vegas there is travel, hotel, food and license or registration or whatever kind of fees accroding to org, commision or whatever. so, if my choice is $300 for a fight in cali, or $800 for a fight in vegas…again, at least the option is there finally.

In addition to what was already mentioned and after speaking directly to the CEO of CAMO, did you know that as a promoter, you must provide CAMO with film of your event. As stated by the CEO, they are going to use that film to put on their website, give out to matchmakers, and give out to fight camps so that they can better train their fighters to fight whoever it is that they are fighting. Did you also know that as a promoter, if a fighter shows up and has forgotten any of his CAMO gear, the fight will be canceled unless the promoter has taken it upon him/herself to purchase additional rash guards and gloves from CAMO. Doesn’t this sound a bit like a monopoly to you??? Let’s see, taking the video rights away from the promoters, using the film to promote their own site, exclusive on gloves and rashguards, and let me add this last thought. As this sport progresses in California, and the California State Athletic Commission finally gets their crap together (which is questionable anyway), I believe that some day the commission will take back Amateur MMA and run it themselves. Doens’t anyone find it odd that CAMO, by mandating their logo’s on the gloves and rashguards of all fighters, seems to be setting themselves up for the future in that once the commission takes back Amateur MMA, their company or logo is ready to market and in fact has been marketed so that they have instant exposure for a wonderful MMA fight line, all on our money. Sounds like unfair business advantages for the future.
ps. Was going to start promoting Amateur MMA in Cali, but not under these rules, hello casino’s.

Great response Larry. We should be more vocal and make sure as many people read this as possible.

Great article that brings up what a scam CAMO is.

You didn’t even touch on the ridiculous fees CAMO charges for promoters to put on shows. For shows with capacity of less than 500 seats – they want $1250 up front. This money does not go to any of the other needs a promoter must pay for. It doesn’t include insurance ( cost another $500), judges (3 x $100), doctor ($100-$300), refs( 2 x $100 ), ambulance ($300-$500). They even require you to pay for a CAMO official to present to oversee the event at the expense of an additional $150.

What is that $1250 going toward exactly?

The whole thing is a scam – and the contract CAMO was awarded by the state is looking more and more likely that it wasn’t legally awarded. CSAC has long been considered corrupt or at least extremely dysfunctional. I fully expect the CA combat sports community to reject this bullshit and unfortunately take the amateur program underground.

The only other legit organization competiting with CAMO was disqualified at the last minute because they were not a non profit. I don’t see how CAMO is a non profit with all the money they are asking for.

Everyone forgot to mention that CAMO also gets 5% of ticket sales and $500 a year just to call yourself a promoter. The $1250 to $2500 plus all the other BS fees cannot be justified since they do nothing except keep a data base of fighters.

Judges, Inspectors and Referees just have to pay CAMO money for their jobs. Referees have to pay $500 to go though a CAMO appointed referee school. As high as these fees are, there is noting that will prevent them from hiking them further.

Jeremy Lappen and JT Steele care nothing about charity or Amateur MMA. They are only involved to make a buck. It amazing that they are still around after the Elite XC Kimbo Slice incident.

If the CSAC collected this much money from Amateur MMA they would be debt free. Maybe the people behind this will soon have jobs with CAMO.

camo is a joke, non profit my ass! im a pro fighter in ca. and besides being a fighter, im an ring anouncer and ringside comentator- and believe me when i say that ive seen everything and all aspects of mma. the athletic commission in california is comprimized and has lost its integrity with recent scandals,and camo just happend to recieve the contract- thats strange if you ask me. this fake ass non-profit organization is all about profit. if its non profit then why are all my own fighters having to pay these outrageous prices just to compete in an amateur event -and why is it that i can only obtain acceptable fight gloves thrue them? espeacialy when I can purchace very easily a 7-8oz. safety mma glove @ combat enternational that meets all the safety standards for athletic commisioned mma fights, amateur or pro. why? Because this whole amateur mma thing was born to capitalize on the the fighting and competitive spirit of the fighters, im refering to the shere desire of each contestant to fight-camo strikes me as just another one of those shady mma promoters in california that exploits mma fighters and wants only one thing . MONEY ! This was all put together to help the amature figher, not by any means to put him/her in financial ruin just to compete. thats why i personaly want to publicly anounce that @ the Hoopa Rezervation in Humbolt Co. is where i will be entering my fighters for amatuer events , the ca. athletic commission has no right on this beautifull Indian land, we dont have to pay all these ( NON-PROFIT ) FEES, AND WE DONT HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL THE HEAD ACHES. OFCOURSE, BLOOD TEST ARE STILL REQUIRED FOR THE SAFETY OF THE ATHLETES-but i can ashure all reading this that it all happens without any headache. @ present time,im in possession of the only completely NATIVE AMERICAN MMA FIGHT TEAM THATS LOCATED IN sACRAMENTO,CA. All those who wish to compete in amateure mma without all the leaches and predators like camo, go to BRASS KNUX PRODUCTIONS and im shure all will be happy with hassle free. WREKN-AZTEKN !

This is the Joker who co chaired the committee that choose CAMO to oversee Amateur MMA.

http://www.fppc.ca.gov/agendas/12-09/RodriguezEx.pdf

WOW – One has to wonder if Mr. Rodriguez received anything from Elite XC which would have givin them (CAMO in their present from) an advantage in recieving approval over other applicants.

Unfortuntly this is only the beginning as the Commission may have granted CAMO athourity to regulate other forms of Martial Arts aside from MMA.

They recently took a small step into the direction when they attemted to give regulation of of Amateur Pankration to CAMO. At the Dec 21st CSAC meeting the executive Officer recommended that this delegation be put on hold until a formal legal opinion is drafted. Mr. Rodriguez rejected the recomendation and announced that CAMO will also regulate Amateur Pankration. I contacted DCA legal for clearity and still awaiting a response.

We have self governed Amateur Pankration for the past eight years without incident or any issues with the CSAC. In fact we disclosed our events and rules as far back as 2005. All of a sudden this year the CSAC have taken a position that the sport is in need of regulation.

They first rasied the issue that they were concerned about the health and welfare of the competitors. We think we were able to prove that our events were indeed safe with very few injuries and appropriate medical services on staff. They now say that Pankration uses Full Contact Martial Arts Techniques and they have the athourity to regulate it and give the regulation to CAMO. We hold the position that we do not allow Full Contact Martial Art Techniques because Strikes are limited to the body and must be delivered in a controlled manner. Matches cannot be won by injury and violators risk disqualification. We even changed our rules to fit the CSAC description of “light Contact” .

The real danger is, if they define Pankration as having Full Contact Martial Art Techniques, they can also include Jiujitsu , Karate , Taekwondo etc… They have not said what “Full Contact Martial Arts Techniques” are ?– Full Contact Chokes or Arm Bars , Karate Strikes to the body , Wrestling Cross Face or Double Leg Takedown , Taekwkondo kicks etc….

Hopfully this entire deal will get investigated. We always belived someting shaddy was going on especially since the Interm Executive Officer William Douglas would not responed to at least 6 or 7 questions we had starting back in March 09 when we learned someting was in the works. Thus we never had a chance to respond to the proposed regulation of the Sport we developed for the past 8 years.

Unfortunately, a lot of organizations, whether they are non-profit or not, are usually corrupt or something is wrong with them because nothing is perfect. But looking at CAMO in a positive perspective, I like knowing that the fighter that’s going against my boyfriend checked out fine in the physical and blood exam and is not some delinquent that can later hunt him down. I know it may sound a bit extreme but let’s face it, they are not professional fights and most fighters don’t act like professional fighters either.

When one is professional there are a lot of lil things that you have to take care of that are not looked at when fighting amateur. With official ameteur events you get legit refs (not the owner of a gym that may hold a biase), legit matches, and experience/insight into becoming professional. Yes, i agree it is pricey but at the same time there are other ways to get things done.

For a the physical and blood one can go to a clinic (for example planned parenthood for free blood test). And for the fighter fee, the fighter can start saving money, $115 is not too pricey if that’s what you want, if anything, they can start writing letters for sponsors, to get to learn the trade!!! It’s a learning experience, this CAMO amateur organization for the fighters, and why not use it as such!

If anything, shouldn’t we be thinking of the safety, health, and promotions of the fighters? With more supporters for the organiztion we can develop it to bigger than what it is now (as it’s growing in popularity at an exponentially increasing level).

My boyfriend does complain about the gloves, the rash guard, and the prices but at least you know that the person that’s going against you is going through the same exact issues and has the same exact equipment.

Just a little positive thought to ponder.

CAMO is a joke. They take their share up front from the promoters, then want another 5% of the ticket sales. Seconds must register online, but there is no forum online to do so. You can download the application. But on the application it says to submit a picture online to complete the form. But they allow no place to do so.

Everything about CAMO seems to be completly opposite of what it takes to be a non-profit in california. I see no information on orginizational meeting places & times. A list of Board of directors. & Times the meetins take place. All of this information has to be made public by california state law to be considered a non profit orginization.

I have allready started the paperwork with the state of california to review thier status & temporarally stop any functions from CAMO. If your trully here for the fighters. Show THEM!!!

I see what CAMO is trying to do in bringing regulation to Amateur MMA, and there is no dispute that it needs it. Especially when you look at some of the smaller MMA events being put on by promoters to turn a profit. There is a need to regulate Amateur MMA for safety and the growth of the sport. For MMA to grow you want the up and coming young guns to be able to hone there skills in a safe environment. What you don’t want is some 16 year old kid fighting some 30 year old man with nothing to lose. No matter how good the kid is.

However at the cost to the fighter is ridiculous. CAMO is milking there newly minted power given to them by the California Athletic Commission to turn a profit. $225 is a lot of money for competition especially when you take on the gym and gear expenses. If you compare it to other sanctioning bodies of for example wrestling and USA wrestling they charge a annual $50 fee and usually 10 fee for tournaments for covering expenses. If I’m not mistaken they are non-profit and substantially cheaper than CAMO. They should be given specifications in the gear they use but allowed to choose from whom ever brand or manufacture they want to get the best price (but within specifications). Just as wrestling does with shoes and boxing does with gloves and baseball with bats and cleats………etc.

This is funny because a lot of this is not true. I am part of the CAMO organization and have fought 3 times with them. WE NEED to make sure the bloodwork and appropriate physicals are handled correctly.. the fee for blood work is absolutely necessary. That plus my registration cost me a grand total of 160 bucks… not 225… also i lost my gloves after my first fight and was given a free pair the following week. We must protect ourselves and therefore I am glad CAMO goes out and finds the best refs and judges. Ive had Big john Macarthy ref and cecil peoples judge twice. we are still allowed to have sponsors, same as pro. so if 160 is too much for you (doubtful) then get yourself some support.. until then leave the fighting to real fighters (pro or amatuer), everything is going great so far

If CAMO is about safety why don’t amateur mma fighters get the required by law brain scan the pro fighters are subject to. The last time I viewed an MMA event the amateur fighters sure do punch,kick,elbow,and knee the head with the same force as a pro fighter but don’t receive the required by law brain scan. Sure was great New Jersey required Thiago to receive a brain scan or he would probably be dead today because of negligence and greed of CAMO/CSAC/DCA.

The dangers of amateur MMA are the same as professional. CAMO neither requires nor allows fighters to wear headgear or shinguards. This does not sound like an organization looking out for the welfare of their fighters. Bone on bone contact is the quickest way to end a young fighters future!

Amateur boxing has so many safety features that the sport is now unique from its professional form. It appears that CAMO is trying to cut corners and promote professional MMA style events at the expense of young fighters who would be better served fighting for a paycheck.

MMAfighter2 – the reason you’ve had Big john Macarthy ref you is because he is actually one of the administrators of CAMO!!! They don’t seem to want people to know this, as it seems to be not only a conflict of interest, but it could jeapardize Big John’s status in the eyes of the MMA world, that he is one of the people who is in charge of CAMO. There’s just something not right there…

this camo shit is dumb im a amateur that is from hawaii and just by reading all this makes me sick how are we amateur fighters supposed to fight with all this rules and outrageoues fees and fighting in a rash guard its messed up califronia is dumb i say with this camo shit!

I also don’t agree with the 2:00 rounds. (3:00 after 10 fights ) Two minutes is not long enough to set up submissions from a take down or gain dominant position on the ground and it’s barely enough time to feel an opponent out and out strike him which lends to fights turning to less controlled slugfests with little or no strategy or technique just so they can win the fight with such a small time frame. The fighters need more time to learn to pace themselfs though a round and have a game plan and execute it like they will need to do in the pros. Also I am not fond of the brand new rule they brought in last fight no knees to the head unless a fighter has five fights or more why don’t they just take away punches to the face and call it pancration and not Amateur. Oh I forgot C.A.M.O. controls that too which is lame.. Next you will need a licence to spar in your own gym since that could be considered full contact.

I heard CAMO is trying to go nationwide. Lets all pray that no other Boxing Commission will fall prey to the Scam!

You make some good points here, and C.A.M.M.O is definitely about making that money.

But let me help you with a few things:

Firstly, there is no organization known as “C.A.M.O.” as you put it over and over again in your
article. That’s an error.
It is in fact “C.A.M.MO.”
http://www.camomma.org/

The whole point of an acronym is that it mimics the actual word.

“Gloves will be 8 ounce gloves. Most standard glove manufacturers make either 4 or 7 ounce gloves.”

-Wrong. I don’t know where you’re getting your info (might even be the C.A.M.M.O website for all I know, it’s pretty slow to update and has some bugs) but C.A.M.M.O. gloves are DEFINITELY 7 ounces, not eight. That’s not even a point of debate. I ought to know, I work a lot of their shows, and help fighters put those gloves on regularly, so it’s funny that you claim C.A.M.M.O. gloves are 8 ounces here- they are definitely not, no way buddy, check your facts.

As to selling their gear at an expensive price, there are definitely two sides to it. Firstly, you can get a promoter to cover medical costs, even for Amateurs. I do it for my guys all the time.
C.S.A.C. IS already on C.A.M.M.O. for profiting from the gear, believe it.

But I tell you what buddy, there is no scam or conspiracy here. Guys show up to smokers with no shirt, torn gloves, and fake blood work. I’d rather know a few guys have lighter wallets, than here that some poor 18 year old kid got Hep C from another fighter- that’s what the rashguards and regulation gloves are for. You clearly have no idea how many poor kids have gotten STD’s from their fights. It happens regularly- fighters are shady as hell in California.

Know, maybe that brings us to what we’re actually disagreeing about- hey, maybe people are more honest in Ohio and you don’t need as much regulation out there. It’s a possibility I’m willing to concede, but from your comments in this otherwise well-thought article, I’m not sure that you know CA very well.

C.A.M.M.O. gloves are durable, and they’re hard to monkey around with.

If the stitching busts, it’s obvious- and I’ll notice it right away. Fighters
were always trying to fool with their gloves- inject hard materials into them, slip in some metal etc. At smokers, that’s always going down. Since C.A.M.M.O. set the standard, and has a little ransom money on each fighter- hey man, we see way less of that, and that’s a good thing.

Because now that there’s the standard, an Inspector can say “son, this knuckle are is hard as a rock.
I’m not saying you doctored these gloves, but I’m saying they’re too hard for me to allow you to fight with. You have 2 options: 1) don’t fight 2) buy a new set of gloves.”

You have no idea how much injury has been avoided with that standard.

If you let guys come in with any old glove from any old company, there will be injuries of fighters hands, due to inconsistent design, and guys being what’s cheap, not what will actually protect them.

The cost… $225 is not for one fight (some of the comments here are twisted on that), it’s for 6-months to a year, depending (there are some allowances there, which I’m not going to detail for you at this point). If you want to go to some clown show smoker events, no one is stopping ya.

C.A.M.M.O. events raise the bar on the health and safety of fighters. Their event have AT LEAST 1 doctor, and paramedics. Ever seen that at a smoker? And if so, how many times? I worked 21 bouts on Sunday, and there were two trips to the hospital. No offense friend, but a little money from each fighter got a licensed MD and paramedics on deck for those fighters, and it was worth it.

$225 per 6 month/1 year period doesn’t even factor in against how much neurological damage from an untreated injury could cost, and you know fighters, Sir, if you don’t make them take care of themselves, they won’t.

C.AM.M.O. does more to protect young fighters than any other Amateur MMA organization, but you are right that they don’t do as much as USA Kickboxing, or Amateur Kickboxing in CA (shinguards, but no headgear).

BUT, they do require legitimate blood work, which protects fighters from getting STD’s in a fight, so that part is good.

You’re right though, headgear would be safer.

@AZ

No one is disputing that CAMMO is a better alternative to illegal smokers. Blood Tests, safe gloves and even rash guards may be good ideas.

If CAMMO requires 7 oz gloves why don’t they allow other brands of similar quality and size? Is their brand the only safe glove on the market and are there no other gloves that fit their required specification? The problem is when you can use your own glove you can manipulate your glove regardless of the quality. This is why all other boxing, kickboxing and MMA promotions are responsible for providing quality and pre inspected gloves to the fighters before their bout. This is the only way they can ensure gloves are not tampered with!

Rash Guards may protect against skin and blood born diseases but why in the world do you have to use only a CAMMO rash guard! Are you saying that other brands of rash guards are less safe than the CAMMO brand?

It appears that CAMMO is a governing organization, a league and a brand. This would be fine except the government allows no other alternatives and made CAMMO a monopoly. What if the government said only the Major League Baseball could organize little league baseball and all the players had to pay MLB a $115 license to play and purchase uniforms, gloves and bats only from MLB.

what a joke camo is. Lets say you want to have a pro mma event and the same night a camo event. well the pro fighters and the amateur fighters punch, kick, elbow and knee the same. but only the pro fighters need a brain scan. the camo fighters don’t. wtf. also if you want to do a csac amateur mma fight that night the csac amateur mma fighters must wear head gear. who did camo pay off?

You don’t have to worry about Pro MMA in California any more, all the greedy promoters are flocking to CAMO to make a quick buck and all the amateurs in CAMO are screwing themselves but wont know it until they try to fight pro. The commission is happy because its less work for them.