Sambo Steve Interviews Fighters Source Honcho Anthony Medina

NEW YORK

The next big MMA show in New York City is the Fighters Source event slated for the MMA World Expo of Saturday, and in advance of that, "Sambo" Steve Koepfer interviewed FS honcho Anthony Medina for his blog. Read the whole thing here, but here's a quote I liked:

NYMMANOW: I personally love the state team format in this tournament and think it has great potential for growth. Can you speak to how the idea of a national tournament with state teams arose and any lessons you may have learned along the way?

MEDINA: It arose right after our New York show. We saw there was a larger need to include other promotions to put forward the absolute best US Team. We took the old IFL (International Fight League) model and adopted it to the amateur side of MMA, which seems to have blossomed under those ideals. Almost like the NCAA National Wrestling Tournament consisting of different schools from different states, and them having national Champions from each weight class. I have learned that the United States is very fragmented in the various rules and regulations for MMA among the various states. It is our hope to have nationally unified MMA rules for not only athletes but for promotions as well.

Nationally unified rules for amateur MMA? That's something I can get behind.