On Dave Meltzer's Wednesday update at The Wrestling Observer, there was a very strange single line stating that the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) told commissions to no longer recognize events that take place in the state of Michigan, nor license any fighters from the state. The ABC is made up of commission members from across the country and exists to provide communication between different commissions, standardize record keeping, ensure adherence to federal regulations and look out for the health and well being of fighters. Despite the name, they are just as involved with the MMA aspects of commissions as they are with the boxing side, and the letter that was sent out specifically notes mixed martial artists, not boxers.

After issuing a few requests I was able to get my hands on the letter sent out to the ABC members and get the actual details of what is going on. Basically it comes down to Michigan's continued inability (or unwillingness) to adhere to basic standards of regulation. The state has continually failed to report results of events and injury suspensions as well as ignoring existing medical and drug suspensions of fighters which came out of issues in other states.

This has been an ongoing problem which basically forced the ABC to take the drastic step of requesting its members not recognize Michigan events and, much more importantly, blacklist fighters who are coming out of the state.

This is just one of the many, many issues with the Michigan MMA scene. Being from the state, I've seen multiple events held with the only medical professional on hand being a local "diet doctor," events where guys show up to the building with their hands already wrapped, guys with lengthy pro resumes fighting on an "amateur" card (where they get paid) against a guy with only one amateur fight and other horrific situations. The commission does a laughably poor job and this is yet another hurdle that ensures the UFC won't be coming back any time soon.

When reaching out to members of two different prominent commissions I was told that most commissions will, in fact, honor this letter. Effectively, fighters who reside in Michigan are now unlikely to be able to find any fights outside of the state until the commission cleans up its act and shows that they're willing to act like the professionals they are supposed to be.

The full letter can be read after the jump...

Update: I just got off the phone with the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission which told me they have no formal response to this situation yet. They were supposed to meet March 15 for a standard commission meeting but that it will be canceled as they "have no agenda items." When I said that this seems to be a pretty big agenda item for that meeting, they had no comment.

Here's the full letter that was sent out to ABC members: