On Dec. 15, Wild Bill’s hosted not only its final Fight Night of 2012, but what appeared to be the final mixed martial arts event in Georgia for the foreseeable future. Following the departure of former Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission Executive Director Andy Foster, the GAEC has been at a standstill with the office of Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Foster, a former fighter who helped establish Georgia as one of the country’s top MMA states after being appointed in 2008, recently resigned to accept the same job in California. Though the GAEC offered a few suggestions for Foster’s replacement, Kemp’s decision to appoint Kelly Farr as the interim director has dealt quite a blow to the local fight scene. Promoters complain that Farr has no knowledge of or interest in MMA. And the GAEC was refusing to allow any fights to take place in 2013 until a more suitable replacement could be made by the Secretary of State’s office.
During a Dec. 11 GAEC meeting, however, Wild Bill’s Fight Night promoter David Oblas of Undisputed Productions was given approval to put together a Jan. 19 MMA card. With a decade of fight promoting experience, and having recently celebrated his sixth anniversary of Wild Bill’s Fight Nights (the biggest and most frequent MMA events in the state), Oblas has a lot to lose if professional fighting comes to an end in Georgia.
“I pay people to punch each other in the face,” says Oblas. “That’s what I do for a living. This could be a huge financial stress for a lot of fighters, gyms, promoters, managers, venues and bartenders. If Evander Holyfield should want to fight here in his home state of Georgia, that simply cannot happen until this is changed. But this ruling allows me to continue to do such legally in 2013 with the first show in Georgia set for Saturday, Jan. 19 at Wild Bill’s.”
This small victory does not mean the GAEC will continue to sanction MMA and boxing events as 2013 progresses, which means this Saturday’s event could still be the final fighting event in Georgia. But while the GAEC and fight promoters claim that Farr doesn’t even show up to most of their meetings, the Secretary of State’s office is confident in his ability to serve as Executive Director until a permanent replacement for Foster is appointed.
“He has been the permanent secretary before, prior to Foster,” says Press Secretary Jared Thomas. “He has had more than 300 fights that have all gone on safely under his watch when he was the director previously. He has also overseen the hiring of the most recent executive director who just left. As far as the office of the Secretary of State is concerned, we have absolutely full faith in Kelly Farr’s abilities to function in the capacity because he has done the job successfully before.”
While this bout seems to be far from over, for now fight fans can at least count on this Saturday’s fights to to get 2013 off to a pummeling start.