Tennessee Commission Issues Fines and Suspensions for Strikeforce Brawl

The Tennessee Athletic Commission determined yesterday that five individuals engaged in “conduct that is detrimental to a professional contest of unarmed combat.” Those five individuals will receive fines and suspensions.

The suspensions come as a result of the post-fight brawl that broke out in the cage at “Strikeforce: Nashville” at the Bridgestone Arena on April 17.

The five individuals will not be named according to their regulations, until all administrative actions are finalized.

According to Loretta Hunt, “the nine-member commission voted to propose $20,000 fines and nine-month suspensions for all five individuals at a formal disciplinary hearing. However, these initial figures can all be reduced to fines ranging between $5,000-$7,500 and three-month suspensions if the recipients do not contest the proceedings and agree to “settle this matter with a consent order.”

In three of the cases, the commission found cause to move forward with a formal hearing for a civil penalty of $20,000 each as well as associated costs and a nine-month suspension. The individuals can agree to a “consent order” which would allow them to bypass the hearing and agree to a three-month suspension and a reduced fine of $5,000.

The fourth individual can receive the same deal but with a higher fine of $7,500. That is due to the fact that the individual did not respond to the commission’s inquiry as instructed.

The fifth individual also gets the $7,500 settlement fine because of lack of proper response. This individual is not licensed with the state and the complaint alleges “unlicensed activity” according to Christopher Garrett who is the director of communications for the state of Tennessee.

The brawl was live on CBS after Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (25-4-1) had defended his title. During the post-fight interview “Mayhem” Jason Miller (23-6) interrupted Jake to demand a rematch.

This led to shoving and eventually turned into a brawl. Also involved in the brawl were Strikeforce lightweight champion “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez (18-2), “Diablo” Nick Diaz (21-8) and UFC fighter Nate Diaz (11-6).

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio as we work to bring you the latest on this story. As always please let us know your thoughts in the fines and suspensions by commenting below.