Montreal police enforcing ‘prizefighting’ ban in city

A tit-for-tat battle among promoters has triggered a Montreal police crackdown on all amateur tournaments related to kick-boxing, MMA, jiu-jitsu and muay thai, say people connected with the city’s fighting community.

Organizers of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament scheduled for last Sunday in Montreal were the latest victims of police enforcing a 2013 Criminal Code amendment outlawing “prizefighting.”

Tournament spokesman Danny Vu told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that police informed organizers they are banning all amateur competitions of combat sports not included in the program of the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee.

Judo and tae kwon do are allowed, while kick-boxing and other amateur combat sports such as mixed martial arts and jiu-jitsu are now illegal.

Organizers were left scrambling to find another host city for last weekend’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament, which had been held in Montreal for the last eight years.

City police said they notified the heads of the Canada National Pro JiuJitsu Championship in response to a complaint about the event.

According to the Criminal Code, all amateur combat sports not sanctioned by the Olympics or specifically designated by the provinces are considered “prizefighting” and illegal.

The police aren’t releasing the identity of the complainant, but Montreal-based fighting promoter Jamie McGowan said he believes whoever did it “definitely was malicious and had a vendetta.”

McGowan, who said he’s held tournaments for kick-boxing, MMA, jiu-jitsu and muay thai for the last 10 years, claims people have been using complaints to police as a way to seek revenge on rivals.

He said he’s had three criminal complaints filed against him since January 2015.

“Since (these sports) were criminalized in 2013, for four years they were tolerated and flying under the radar,” he said.