Irish Minister of Sport Michael Ring said that he plans to "regulate mixed martial arts in the country following the death of fighter Joao Carvalho on Monday," according to the BBC. The Portuguese died in Dublin after spending 48 hours in a critical condition following a bout. Ring: "Clearly there's a problem. I'm going to ask John Treacy in Sport Ireland to see what we can do to try and regulate this sport." MMA is not funded by Sport Ireland, the umbrella body which governs sport in the Republic of Ireland, but "it has become popular in the country following the success of Dubliner Conor McGregor." McGregor said, "Combat sport is a crazy game and with the recent incident in boxing and now this in MMA, it is a sad time to be a fighter and a fight fan. It is easy for those on the outside to criticize our way of living." Ring said that he has "had concerns about the regulation of MMA for some time" and wrote to "17 operators" in '14 calling for them to comply with safety standards. He said, "This particular sport is not regulated, has not looked for regulation and has not looked to be part of the Sport Ireland program. They are not getting any funding from the state." The minister added that the "fragmented nature of MMA in Ireland was a complicating factor" (BBC, 4/13). In Sydney, Daniel Lane reported Dr. Lou Lewis, a "fight doctor" for over 30 years, said that laws in New South Wales were designed to "allow for the ringside doctor at any boxing or MMA bout to avoid the type of tragedy that occurred in Ireland over the weekend." Lewis said that while he was not aware of the "background leading up to" Carvalho's death in Dublin, he has "used his authority" under the NSW Combat Sport Authority on a "number of occasions" to step into the middle of a fight and stop a "one-sided contest." His comments come after McGregor, who was at the Dublin bout to support his stablemate Charlie Ward, said that referees "need to be on the ball a little bit" after the fight dragged on. His comments were made "before knowing the scale of Carvalho's injuries" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 4/13).
