Report: Commission didn't follow medical suspension policies before Hague's death
A third-party investigation commissioned by the city of Edmonton regarding the death of UFC veteran Tim Hague has concluded the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission (ECSC) didn't follow its own policies prior to what would prove the fighter's final bout on June 16, according to MMA Fighting's Marc Raimondi.
A report released Thursday claims if the commission had enforced its rules on medical suspensions, Hague wouldn't have been allowed to compete in at least two fights this and last year. The ECSC had handed Hague a shorter medical suspension than required in its policy on two occasions, reportedly deferring instead to the assessments of attending physicians with no access to Hague's track record.
The late fighter should've been suspended by the commission for 90 days in July 2016 after competing at an ACB event last year in Russia - where he was knocked out. The penance would have kept him from competing in a boxing match he lost by unanimous decision on Sept. 9 of that year in Edmonton. Hague took the ring less than two months later on Dec. 2 in a bout he lost by TKO.
Per commission policy, back-to-back stoppage losses from blows to the head should have shelved Hague for 180 days, although according to the report, records didn't specify whether he'd succumbed to strikes to the head in the latter bout. Had that suspension been issued, Hague would not have been eligible to compete in a boxing/MMA hybrid match on April 7 in Lethbridge, Alberta. He lost the bout - again by TKO - although it remains unclear whether the stoppage came due to blows to the head.
Hague fought for the last time in Edmonton on June 16, when he suffered a brutal knockout - his fourth stoppage loss in 11 months - in a boxing match with Adam Braidwood after being dropped on several occasions. He died of injuries sustained in the bout two days later.
The report's findings were released less than one week after Edmonton city council passed a temporary moratorium on all combat sports that will expire at the end of 2018, a move that followed an update to councillors on the investigation of Hague's death. Included in the report were 18 recommendations, including a move from a citywide to a more conventional provincial athletic commission and improving oversight of promoters, fighters and officials.
The 128-page report will be reviewed by city council on Jan. 17, CTV Edmonton News reports.