Mixed martial arts fighters have grumbled about the Ontario Athletics Commission's medical test demands, but the requirement is now being praised after revealing American welterweight Brian Foster had suffered a brain hemorrhage.

A mandated MRI turned up the damage.

Coach Marc Fiore said the 27-year-old father of three feels fine, but faces a stressful six weeks before another MRI can show whether the problem has cleared up.

"I'm not going to lie, I was one of the guys that was bitching and complaining about the [Ontario] MRI," Fiore said from his gym in Granite, Ill. "It's more money out of the fighter's pocket, that he had to pay for. We already had one. In a lot of [U.S.] states, a lot of commissions, [for] five years, six years, your MRI is good. Ontario does things different."

Fiore thinks differently now.

"He's like a son to me," he said of Foster. "I'm glad we got the MRI and the first thing now is his health."

Foster (17-5) had been due to meet Toronto's Sean Pierson at UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre on April 30. He has withdrawn from the card.

'I'm going to be a wreck for six weeks'

Foster had felt totally normal during training, according to his coach.

"If we hadn't got the MRI, we'd have never [known]," said Fiore. "No dizziness, headaches, no signs of any head trauma. The MRI came back, he had a blood vessel leaking a little bit and it turned into a hemorrhage."

"I'm going to be a wreck for six weeks," Fiore added, speaking of the time they will wait for a second test. "I'm not waiting to see if he can fight or not. I'm waiting to see if he's going to be healthy … Our fingers are crossed that it comes back all clear."

The Ontario commission requires out-of-province fighters to provide results of an MRI or CT scan, ECG and eye examination, all of which must be conducted within 60 days of a planned event. It also asks for HIV and hepatitis B/C tests taken no more than 30 days before an event.

Fighters are subject to pre- and post-fight medical testing as well.

Most of that is consistent with other jurisdictions. But Ontario demands more current test results, with heavy demands for out-of-province fighters.

The Nevada state athletic commission, considered one of the leaders in the sport, requires an annual MRI/MRA at the time of initial licensing. Subsequent MRI and MRA tests are at the discretion of the commission.

An out-of-province fighter has to apply for a permit each time he or she wants to fight in Ontario, with required tests conducted again each time if existing ones are out of date.

An Ontario fighter applies for an annual licence each calendar year.

That has prompted some complaints from fighters at the first two sanctioned MMA events in Ontario.

"Oh my God, it was unbelievable. Unbelievable," veteran lightweight Marcus [The Irish Hand Grenade] Davis said after last week's MFC 29 show in Windsor.

"In 20 years of being a professional fighter, I've never gone through so many hoops, so many everything to be able to fight. Doing medicals over and over again, crunch time, it was crazy."

Misha Cirkunov, a Toronto light-heavyweight who fought on the first sanctioned card at Casino Rama, said he had gone through detailed medical checks.

"It's very organized, it's very nicely done, it's very fair," he said prior to fighting. "But at the same time, it's not that easy to just be a fighter in Ontario. There are certain things you have to go through… I've fought in many provinces before and it was much easier to go through all the medicals, all the tests, and all of that."

The UFC sent a representative to Toronto on Monday to work with the commission on the fighter medicals to avoid any last-minute problems before its card.

UFC vice-president Marc Ratner, a former longtime head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, has no complaints about the way the Ontario commission works.

"The first fight is always a little bit of a challenge for us in a new jurisdiction," said Ratner, the UFC's regulatory expert.

"When we first sign a fight, whether it be Vancouver or even Montreal — Canada's a little bit different because they have some different medical rules. But once I know the rules, what they need, then we have a big enough staff to make it work."

As for Pierson, he awaited word on a new opponent, after asking his Twitter followers to "Please put your thoughts and prayers with (at)BrianFoster170 for a speedy recovery."

Pierson said in an interview that the incident had shown the tests are warranted.

"I'm glad that we had to get these MRIs so close to the fight."

Tweeted Foster: "I'm sry to all my fans but I won't be fighting in Toronto, my MRI came back and u have a brain hemorrhage! I'm so sry."

And later: "Thanks for the well wishes everyone I WILL be back stronger than ever god willing:)"

There have been MMA shows in Ontario before, but they were on First Nations reserves and were not sanctioned by the provincial government.

That changed last August when Ontario announced plans as of Jan. 1 to regulate the sport using the provincial Athletics Control Act, which is administered by the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services.

The act already sanctioned pro boxing and kickboxing.