In the wake of Saturday's cancellation of the "Brawl 4 It All" card in San Francisco, Calif., fighters and their representatives were left
scrambling to recoup some of the money that was guaranteed to them in contracts.
Ken Pavia, who manages
Gabe Ruediger (Pictures) and
Vince Lucero (Pictures), said the promoter, a Phil Flathers, offered to pay fighters 20 percent of their
show money.
"The promoter called a meeting of a number of the fighters that had gathered at the event and during the course of negotiations an altercation ensued in the back of the room," said Pavia, who declined to expound on the altercation. "During the altercation the promoter took advantage of the distraction to grab his briefcase and run out the side exit and sprint to his car. People chased him, he jumped in his car and took off. At this time, despite the fact that my fighters signed bout agreements, made weight, and complied with all their medical obligations, they have not been paid a dollar."
Attempts by Sherdog.com to reach Flathers, who is based out of Sacramento, Calif., have gone unreturned.
The MMA card at the Cow Palace was cancelled Saturday afternoon when California State Athletic Commission executive officer Armando Garcia
said he notified arena officials that the event, which had garnered just 300 tickets sold, was off because the caged fighting enclosure was
missing two support beams.
The card's status came into question on Oct. 16 when the CSAC notified media via e-mail that the advertised bout sheet featured several
prominent names --
Nick Diaz (Pictures),
Jeff Monson (Pictures),
Javier Vazquez (Pictures),
Mia St. John and reality television persona
Leland Chapman -- were not scheduled to
compete.
After last minute scrambling,
Brad Imes (Pictures) was slated to fight
Ruben Villareal (Pictures) in the headline bout of a six-fight card. Each bout consisted
of three, three-minute rounds.
Refunds can be had at the location where patrons purchased their tickets.