Breaking News: Saturday’s WCO Event Cancelled

[NWOWolfpack]

http://www.Sherdog.com

Saturday's Valor promoted World Cagefighting Organization card at the San Diego Sports Arena has been cancelled by the California State Athletic Commission due to funding issues, Sherdog.com learned Saturday afternoon.

Problems arose Friday evening after the CSAC learned that funding had not been secured to pay the athletes who were to compete on the card.

"At the eleventh hour, the commission was informed there were insufficient funds to pay the fighters," CSAC executive director Armando Garcia told Sherdog.com. "In the end, we had to cancel the event."

A deadline of 10 a.m. PST was set for Saturday morning for Valor promoter Rick Bassman to prove that the fighters' pay was secured. After Bassman failed to meet the time limit, he was given until 12 p.m. PST.

In a last ditch effort to save the card, WCO officials tried to apply for a promoter's license, but there was not enough time to complete the lengthy process. At that time, the CSAC decided to cancel the event.

After a conversation with the San Diego sports Arena box-office, Garcia informed Sherdog.com that sales for the event were extremely low.

As per CSAC regulations, fighters are guaranteed 20 percent of their purse, which must be paid by Jan. 18.

[keithlewis]

That blows. How could they not be prepared in advance.

[TheBrokenVow]

Because they were chumps aiming too highly.

Sucks it went down like that, but I guess when it's all said and done it is not too surprising.

[broncofan]

http://www.sherdog.com

At least Mark Kerr (Pictures) got his 20 percent.

While "The Smashing Machine" had planned on collecting $15,000 Saturday night, he like his opponent and 16 other mixed martial artists learned they wouldn't fight because promoters failed to provide sufficient funds.

Problems first surfaced Friday evening after Rick Bassman, the promoter of record, informed the California State Athletic Commission that money had not been secured to pay fighters.

Bassman, who has promoted several Valor Fighting shows in California, said World Cagefighting Organization's Bruce Bellocchi hired him to use his promoter's license and to produce the event and perform administrative functions.

Bassman told Sherdog.com he had a contract with Bellocchi in which the WCO accepted responsibility for "all cost items associated with the show," including fighter pay. However, as the event neared, the promoter worried whether the funds would be available, prompting him to go to the commission.

Had Bassman not said anything, Garcia surmised, Saturday's card would have likely taken place, perhaps leaving fighters to deal with bruises and bounced checks.

Bassman said he met with the investor backing the event on Thursday. He believed the investor intended to fund the show, but Bassman also doubted a report he said the investor was given by Bellocchi that claimed roughly 7,000 tickets had been sold for the event, totaling about $232,000.

"That didn't seem possible that it was doing that well," Bassman said.

After speaking with San Diego Sports Arena box office personnel, Garcia said he was informed that ticket sales were extremely slow.

In Bassman's view, the investor chose not to fund the show after learning that ticket sales were not what he had been contractually guaranteed. After the investor pulled out, Bassman said Bellocchi rushed to deposit $225,000 into his bank to allow the show to go on.

Garcia confirmed the presence of funds with Wells Fargo, but said money would not have been available until Jan. 24 so long as none was removed from the account prior to that date and the deposited sum didn't bounce.

Even if Bellocchi had cash in hand Saturday, it wouldn't have mattered.

"I couldn't use that money anyway because that wasn't Rick Bassman's money," said Garcia. "That was Bruce Bellocchi's account."

Bassman was very reluctant to write $218,000 worth of checks without knowing whether the money would be available.

In a final effort to save the card, WCO officials attempted to submit an application for a promoter's license late Friday. It fell well short of the necessary requirements, including financial, for a completed promoter application packet, Garcia said.

"Ultimately, the commission wanted Valor to have the funds, regardless if we had them confirmed," Bellocchi said. "I have the money secured. We even had fighters who offered to forego their purse in order to be able to compete tonight, but the commission declined."

Continued Bellocchi: "With our promoter's license application in limbo, there was nothing we could do this late in the process. I'm seriously considering never doing business in California again. I'm kind of in a state of shock. When you're dealing with people that are unreasonable, it's tough to get by."

Bassman didn't blame the California commission. He blamed Bellocchi -- and himself.

"Although Armando [Garcia] can be tough, he, in my estimation, bent over backwards to help make this thing go forward," Bassman said. "But [Bellocchi] missed deadline after deadline. He missed our deadline and he missed Armando's deadline, and Armando even extended his deadline."

Bassman - and as a result Bellocchi - were given until 10 a.m. Saturday morning to show evidence of proper financing to Garcia. The CSAC Executive Officer extended that deadline back too noon, but in the end usable money never materialized.

"I should have smelled a rat and known better. I've been doing this for a long time, [promoting] wrestling and fighting both, and I've seen pretty much everything," Bassman said. "Now I'm about to walk into a room and write about $40,000 worth of checks, which is essentially my personal money."

As per CSAC regulations, fighters are guaranteed 20 percent of their purse if an event is cancelled.

"Thank God we didn't fight and have our checks bounce," said Kerr, who was slated to face Hawaiian heavyweight Kauai Kupihea (Pictures) and also expressed appreciation for the CSAC's efforts to protect the fighters. "I feel for Joe Riggs (Pictures), who just had a baby and has a mortgage to pay. Now he only gets 20 percent of his purse."

Garcia said by early Saturday evening each fighter with a signed bout agreement had received a check.

Fans at home who paid for the Internet pay-per-view broadcast of the WCO via ringsidejunkie.com will receive a refund within 30 days, according to a statement on the Web site.

Mike Fridley and Joe Hall contributed to this report