Jeremy Lappen: Head of C.A.M.O. California Amateur MMA Organization
July 21st, 2009 um 3:48 Uhr • MMA MATRATS, asd Pankration • 8 Kommentares •
Is Jeremy Lappen the Armando Garcia of Amateur MMA in California.
Jeremy Lappen is already going after regulation of Pankration a sport the state has no jurisdiction.
Read this:
Armando Garcia E-Mail telling me Judo/Jiu Jitsu/Submission Wrestling is Full Contact and illegal.
Jeremy Lappen of CAMO is now trying to say Pankration is Full Contact. Jeremy there are no head strikes in Pankration it can’t be considered Full Contact!
Here Armando Garcia had Dean Lohuis go after a submission tournament with the infamous useless cease and desist letter sent out at last minute to ruin another event or illegally extort money. I got wind of this and immediately contacted Dean Lohuis and said CSAC has no jurisdiction on Judo/Jiu Jitsu/Submission Wrestling and if you shut down Abu Dhabi the CSAC is going to have a huge backlash. Here Dean Lohuis admits the CSAC has no jurisdiction. At the same time in my e-mail above Armando Garcia informs me October 2005 Jiu Jitsu/Judo is illegal. The same now is happening with CAMO/CSAC on Pankration. They have no jurisdiction on Pankration and Jeremy Lappen of CAMO and the CSAC are useing the Armando Garcia tactics again.
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DANA WHITE: NOT A FAN OF JEREMY LAPPENS CAMO he says no sleazy people should not run it. Refering to Jeremy Lappen. And shouldn’t be for profit.
Bis jetzt 8 Kommentare
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California, of course, is internationally known for it’s amazing ability to pick politicians who espouse great governance standards.
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&thread=1513184&page=1
It’s true. The most important man in MMA got the concession from the CSAC. He is completely and totally in charge of Amateur MMA in Ca. He has formed a not-for-profit called CAMO (Ca Amateur MMA Organization) I was at the vetting meeting where the candidates were intervied by the commission (friday Aug 21). On Monday Aug 24 they gave him full control and indicated that he could start immediately. The theory is that CAMO would regulate Am MMA the way that USA Boxing regulates Am Boxing.
If you are currently an entry level licensed Pro in Ca this is a big problem for you. Let me explain and give some insight as to what happened at the meeting, as well as how it was explained to me by various commissioners.
If you want to fight in Ca and are not yet a Lic Pro you will need to join CAMO ($$) and get some Am experience first, no option. Keep in mind that means that Jeremy will tell you when and where you can fight, how much $$ you will have to give him/CAMO for the opportunity, all aspects of medical testing and/or other suspensions will be decided by him, and he has the final say. Same goes for Am coaches, trainers, corners, and promoters.
Jeremy approached us as well as other regional Pro Promoters trying to sell us on supporting CAMO as it would mean that we could promote our fights with Am fighters but still sell to the public as a “Cage Fighting”, Joe Public would never know the difference. Not to mention we could put on our shows without having to pay those pesky fighter purses and the CSAC.
USA Boxing requires Am fighters to wear head gear both for safety and to make it obvious to Joe Public that the match is not Professional but is Am.
I found it interesting that Jeremy was vehemently opposed to the use of any safety equipment (head gear) or rules that would make it clear that an Am match was not a Pro match to the General public. So as it stands the only rules differences will be rash guards, 2 oz heavier gloves, and limiting knees to the head. When I suggested head gear, similar to Am Boxing, Jeremy told the commission that head gear is not only unecessary but also dangerous. I’m not kidding. When it was suggested that Am fighters wear Grappling head gear to make the matches obvious Am, Lappen told me that would make it, well, too hard for the fighters to Grapple. He was adamanet that Am fights look, feel, taste, and smell the same as Pro fights.
If I as a Pro Promoter have to compete with other promotions that do not pay thier fighters or the CSAC - I can’t. I have personal knowledge that several other current promotions are on board with CAMO and will switch to Am fights to cut the costs of the purses and the CSAC. Jeremy had discussed the idea of Pro-Am promotions, but unless the CSAC takes the unprecidented step of cutting thier take per event (it’s substantial trust me) no promoters will be able to pay both the CSAC and whatever Jeremy wants on top of that to sanction the event. We will have to make a business decision at some point and go with the option that makes the most business sense, Am or Pro.
USA Boxing seems to make training, fighter info, Am tournaments, and safety thier primary focus. Lappen seems to be soley focused on Am MMA as sell to the public - for profit -events. All roads in his presentation lead there.
How does this affect you if you are already a Pro but not yet at the level for WEC, Strikeforce, UFC? If we as regional promoters are all forced, as a matter of economics, to start using Am fighters and CAMO there will be substantially less fights and more fighters competing for those that are left - meaning lower payouts. Again, how can I expect to compete with other promotions that have no purse and no CSAC. Just from the ones I know have expressed an interest in Jeremy’s sales picth there are hundreds of bouts that happened this year that would not next year. Not only will entry level Pros make less $$ but they may be lucky to find fights at all at any price.
If you have ever fought as a Pro you can never go back and fight Am, even for free.
Jeremy is keen on making a point that CAMO is a not-for-profit co. Make no mistake about it, that will not prevent him from striking gold in Ca. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is also not-for-profit, and is similarly run by the smartest man is the art world Mike Govan. He makes over $1,000,000/yr (that 1 million a year). Jeremy can charge you whatever he wants and take as large a salary and perks as he is willing to risk with the IRS. It might be more than he could currently make elsewhere in the MMA world. And it is hard to mess this one up as long as there are people in Ca that want to compete in MMA, if he is losing $$ he can just raise the fees virtually unlimited and no one has a choice.
If this goes ahead the way the commission has indicated it will, entry level Pro MMA in Ca is done. There will only be two events left standing - Jeremy’s Am and Strikeforce/WEC.
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E-Mail sent to me from Bobby Razik
[ No Subject ]Friday, October 16, 2009 7:51 PM
From: “Bobby Razak”Add sender to ContactsTo: kazja13@yahoo.comMy name is Bobby Razak Im considered the top extreme sports director in the world for 13 years now around 11 years ago Jeremy Lappen wanted to represent me he took my masters and said he wanted to book me television and film deals, when I went back to pick up my masters he could not find then denied that I ever gave them to him. Bobby Razak
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How can a producer of a MMA reality show called Bully Beatdown which had to flee California to film
be appointed incharge of Amateur MMA in California.
He violated 414 by leaving the state to film a california illegal toughman contest. This was worse than a toughman because this show had pro fighters beatup on no-bodies who no nothing of fighting.Links:
http://www.film.com/tv/bully-beatdown/27595354
Watch this fight. Imagine now we will have amateur MMA fighters with no head gear fighting because Jeremy Lappen of CAMO wants it. No concerns for safety.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI_S3zFBE1Y
414 links:
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm266/kazja13/img165.jpghttp://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm266/kazja13/img166.jpg
Amateur boxing requires head gear with just punching to the head.
MMA has kicks also to the head with way more force and no head gear worn. Then amateur boxing can now do fights with no head gear.
No safety concerns by CAMO just money concerns.
Jeremy Lappen evan pays fighters to stay standing so a knockout will occur.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2008/10/11/632781/jeremy-lappen-admits-guiltSeth Radio Interview:
http://monsters.fm/pages/monsters_media.html?feed=246187&article=4355604 -
More on Jeremy Lappen:
Steve Barry: Seth Petruzelli contract shows no knockout bonus, contradicting the claims of Jeremy Lappen
By Zach Arnold | October 27, 2008The company is dead, but the stand-up scandal is still warm — here’s why.
I’ve contended since this scandal broke that Jeremy Lappen should not go away from this scandal unscathed, unlike Gary Shaw and other characters involved in the company
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/25/quote-of-the-day-t-jay-thompson/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/22/fight-opinion-radio-92-delivering-our-eulogy-for-elite-xc/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/21/media-reaction-to-elite-xc-fallout-michael-wilbon-cheers/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/21/tj-thompson-seth-petruzelli-was-paid-to-stand-up/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/12/frank-shamrock-vs-ken-shamrock-is-coming-soon/
http://mma.fanhouse.com/2008/10/12/a-note-on-elitexc-seth-petruzelli-jeremy-lappen-submission-bo/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/11/us-sports-media-weighs-in-on-elite-xc-scandal/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/10/jeremy-lappen-says-both-espn-si-misquoted-him/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/09/reports-kimbopetruzelli-fight-being-investigated/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/08/how-about-that-good-pr-for-elite-xc/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/07/we-want-real-answers-not-fanboy-interviewing-questions/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/06/the-pr-spin-on-the-seth-petruzellikimbo-slice-situation/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2008/10/06/can-elite-xc-management-be-prosecuted-for-this/
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“They’re both wrong,” Lappen said. “We have given submission bonuses in the past but they’re not as common as knockout bonuses. If the question is, ‘Have we ever given submission bonuses?’ The answer is yes. But we give knockout bonuses more often. We gave Seth a knockout bonus before the fight started. That was part of the deal.”
http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/10/11/dana-white-on-elitexc-thats-fucking-illegal
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Bribery haunting the CSAC
Did CAMO BRIBE DCA to get appointed?
http://www.octagonbuzz.com/bribery-haunting-csac/ -
Another DCA/CSAC SCAM! A must read of more corruption in California.
http://www.fighters.com/01/08/c-a-m-o-killing-amateur-mma-in-california/comment-page-1#comment-7325
Just a few of the Comments on this CAMO/CSAC/DCA SCAM!
In addition to what was already mentioned and after speaking directly to the CEO of CAMO, did you know that as a promoter, you must provide CAMO with film of your event. As stated by the CEO, they are going to use that film to put on their website, give out to matchmakers, and give out to fight camps so that they can better train their fighters to fight whoever it is that they are fighting. Did you also know that as a promoter, if a fighter shows up and has forgotten any of his CAMO gear, the fight will be canceled unless the promoter has taken it upon him/herself to purchase additional rash guards and gloves from CAMO. Doesn’t this sound a bit like a monopoly to you??? Let’s see, taking the video rights away from the promoters, using the film to promote their own site, exclusive on gloves and rashguards, and let me add this last thought. As this sport progresses in California, and the California State Athletic Commission finally gets their crap
together (which is questionable anyway), I believe that some day the commission will take back Amateur MMA and run it themselves. Doens’t anyone find it odd that CAMO, by mandating their logo’s on the gloves and rashguards of all fighters, seems to be setting themselves up for the future in that once the commission takes back Amateur MMA, their company or logo is ready to market and in fact has been marketed so that they have instant exposure for a wonderful MMA fight line, all on our money. Sounds like unfair business advantages for the future.
ps. Was going to start promoting Amateur MMA in Cali, but not under these rules, hello casino’s.Great article that brings up what a scam CAMO is.
You didn’t even touch on the ridiculous fees CAMO charges for promoters to put on shows. For shows with capacity of less than 500 seats – they want $1250 up front. This money does not go to any of the other needs a promoter must pay for. It doesn’t include insurance ( cost another $500), judges (3 x $100), doctor ($100-$300), refs( 2 x $100 ), ambulance ($300-$500). They even require you to pay for a CAMO official to present to oversee the event at the expense of an additional $150.
What is that $1250 going toward exactly?
The whole thing is a scam – and the contract CAMO was awarded by the state is looking more and more likely that it wasn’t legally awarded. CSAC has long been considered corrupt or at least extremely dysfunctional. I fully expect the CA combat sports community to reject this bullshit and unfortunately take the amateur program underground.
The only other legit organization competiting with CAMO was disqualified at the last minute because they were not a non profit. I don’t see how CAMO is a non profit with all the money they are asking for.
Everyone forgot to mention that CAMO also gets 5% of ticket sales and $500 a year just to call yourself a promoter. The $1250 to $2500 plus all the other BS fees cannot be justified since they do nothing except keep a data base of fighters.
Judges, Inspectors and Referees just have to pay CAMO money for their jobs. Referees have to pay $500 to go though a CAMO appointed referee school. As high as these fees are, there is noting that will prevent them from hiking them further.
Jeremy Lappen and JT Steele care nothing about charity or Amateur MMA. They are only involved to make a buck. It amazing that they are still around after the Elite XC Kimbo Slice incident.
If the CSAC collected this much money from Amateur MMA they would be debt free. Maybe the people behind this will soon have jobs with CAMO.
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