Questions raised about first licensed promoter in Alabama
On July 30, 2011 in Priceville, Alabama a local karate school owner by the name of Robert Clairday held an…
On July 30, 2011 in Priceville, Alabama a local karate school owner by the name of Robert Clairday held an underground event in which two 12-year-olds fought inside a ramshackle homemade cage.
One of the kids, Christian Echols, is the son of Ray Echols – Clairday’s business partner in his gym, Fear None MMA, who also helped promote the event that was held at Morgan County Celebration Arena.
During the bout Echols, who is also the CEO of American Xtreme Combat (AXC), can be heard shouting instructions to Christian. After an accidental clash of heads cuts his son on the crown and leaves him staggering around the cage, Echols tells him he’s okay and persuades the official to let the fight continue. No doctors were on hand so the boy was never checked by one and the bout went on for two more rounds.
After the bout both kids went to the hospital. Christian got eight staples to close the gash on his head. His opponent got several stitches on his cheek.
At the time the event was held, MMA in Alabama was illegal and anyone in attendance in any capacity could be charged with a misdemeanor while the promoter and fighters could be charged with a class C felony and could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine.
In February of 2010 legislation was passed that turned the Alabama Boxing Commission into the Alabama Athletic Commission. The change allowed the AAC to govern MMA as well as boxing.
The commission told promoters and fighters to stop putting on shows and stop fighting until they could establish the rules and issue licenses and warned that if they continued to promote illegal events they would be denied a promoter’s license when they began doling them out. Most stopped promoting events to comply with the AAC’s request. Others, like Echols and Clairday continued to promote events with no doctors present, no blood work and no regard for the safety of their fighters, who were not paid as they were classified as amateurs.
In April of 2011 Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed legislation making it a Class C felony to promote or to fight in the state Alabama without a license, yet many promoters like Echols and Clairday continued to thumb their noses at the law and continued to hold unsanctioned shows in spite of the law.
Echols held AXC 10 and AXC 11 at the Cullman Civic Center in Cullman, Alabama on April 2 and June 4, respectively, and was in the process of booking his next event in August when he was informed that the county would not rent him the venue and that if he held the show elsewhere, he would be charged by police.
Fast forward to January and now Echols has been granted the first official promoter’s license by the state to hold an event at the same venue he held numerous unofficial ones..