Kim Couture said she was unaware that she was under indefinite suspension from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board until just prior to her fight with Sheila Bird at an event this past weekend in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. An NJSACB official, however, said she fully knew of the suspension because she signed a paper acknowledging it following a decision loss this past October at an event in Atlantic City.
Nevertheless, the Calgary Combative Sports Commission signed off on the fight in which Couture was dramatically choked unconscious.
Video that circulated after the July 8 bout showed Bird lock in a rarely seen scissor choke that put Couture to sleep just under the two-minute mark. It took the referee several seconds to realize Couture was unconscious – despite both her legs falling limp to the mat – and stop the fight.
The clip prompted immediate outrage in the MMA community. This past Saturday, CCSC Chairman Shirley Stunzi told MMAWeekly.com that an investigation into the bout's stoppage is underway and that no further comment would be made until its conclusion.
Stunzi, however, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the CCSC is drafting a press release that will address the fight and Couture's suspension.
As it stands, the crossed wires appear to stem from Couture's recent medical history and her fight in New Jersey.
Couture said she underwent surgery this past February to repair damage stemming from her first professional fight, in which she sustained a broken jaw. After being made aware of of the suspension on the day of the July 8 fight, which took place at Calgary Telus Convention Center, her doctor faxed documentation of the surgery to the New Jersey and Calgary commissions.
Lembo confirmed that he received the paperwork at 6 p.m. on the night of the event, and he forwarded it to the physician that suspended Couture this past October for review. But there was no documentation related to the medical concerns for which she was suspended.
The NJSAC commissioner said the strikes that Couture sustained during her bout in New Jersey were serious, and following her decision loss, an NJSACB-approved physician suspended her indefinitely. To be cleared, she was required to get a CT scan of her facial bones and needed a green light from an ENT doctor.
"Very late in the game, and the wrong paperwork," Lembo said. "So, simply put, Calgary and Kim were notified that we were not lifting the suspension."
Couture remains under suspension for the New Jersey bout. However, Lembo said the fighter's case will be reviewed by NJSACB Commissioner Aaron Davis, and Couture may face further disciplinary action.
The case has already drawn the attention of the president of the Association of Boxing Commissions, which oversees and regulates athletic commissions in the U.S. and Canada.
"The Calgary commission should have required that New Jersey lift the suspension from the database before participation," ABC president Tim Lueckenhoff wrote in an email to MMAjunkie.com. "I have a policy that if the database shows you are suspended, you do not fight until removed and I have written documentation in hand.
"Each commission who is a member of the ABC must review the MMA database before each fight numerous times to ensure that fighters are not on suspension. The database is there for everyone's use, and to ignore the valuable information contained herein is criminal."
Lueckenhoff said disciplinary action against the CCSC is possible, though he didn't say whether an investigation on Couture's case is underway.
"Most fighters like in this case ignore this information and don't worry about it until it is time to fight again," he said. "(I) think we as commissioners need to make fighters accountable. They are professionals, and it is their responsibility to ensure that they are medically cleared to fight."
Couture, however, believes the reaction to the fight and its stoppage is being blown out of proportion.
"I think people like a story – they like to sensationalize everything and make a bigger deal out of it than it was," she said. "I got up on my own two feet. My equilibrium was fine; I was smiling and waving at the crowd."
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