CABMMA uncovers fraud in Brazil, fighters face prosecution
CABMMA alleges that an undisclosed number of fighters in Brazil perpetrated fraud, and face likely banishment from the sport, as well as criminal prosecution.
Mixed martial arts in Brazil is regulated by the BComissão Atlética Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA). CABMMA chairman Rafael Favetti spoke recently with Guilherme Cruz, and alleges that an undisclosed number of gyms and fighters perpetrated fraud, and face likely banishment from the sport, as well as criminal prosecution.
It does not involve any fighters in the UFC.
“The commission has been doing a secret investigation against frauds in medical exams provided by athletes in several gyms,” Favetti told MMAFighting.com. “We got to a point where we’re possibly dealing with a criminal gang, a gang that has as its motto to fraud medical exams for MMA athletes.
“We contacted hospitals and labs, and they also didn’t know they were involved in this fraud,” he continued. “They are desperate. Our next step is taking this to the police and the Brazilian government agency for law enforcement and prosecution of crimes.”
“The investigation is over, and we’re now going to meet with the hospitals and labs and the police one more time. We are the first athletic commission in the world to do an investigation like this. We checked every exam, talked to every doctor that signed medical reports, and the labs. We are really confident about this case.”
“We ask for a number of medical exams, like HIV, hepatitis, CT scans. Our medical staff became suspicious when several exams, from different fighters and promotions, are very similar to other exams presented by other athletes in other promotions, so we started this secret investigation. We went to the labs that did those exams, got the protocols, and checked which athlete did each test and provided it to the commission, and we ended up with three or four athletes from a same gym, from a same coach. They used fraudulent exams in several events.
“They thought we would never find out about this because they used different athletes in different promotions. In their heads, we would never find out. They didn’t expect us to go to every lab and talk to every doctor.”
“We will announce the names who are involved in this case really soon, right after we talk to the police and the Brazilian government agency for law enforcement. We will announce the names of the athletes and the gyms, and they will likely be banned from the sport.
“They are already indefinitely suspended. They will have the opportunity to defend themselves, but they will also be investigated for this crime by the police and the government. If their defense isn’t satisfactory — and let’s be real, they can’t say anything about it, it’s clearly a fraud –, they will be disaffiliated.
“(CABMMA COO) Cristiano Sampaio just left the last meeting with the last doctor. He called and said ‘it’s definitely a fraud. It’s a fraud’. We will announce it as soon as they are criminally charged by the government.”
