Kazuo Misaki Used Injectable Pain Killers Against Jorge Santiago at SRC 14, Raises Some Serious Questions

If I were to tell you that Japan and America were very different, you'd probably laugh and comment that yes, of course they are. When it comes to MMA they are no different, as Japan is seen as a birthplace of sorts for modern MMA, with America as the place that MMA has made its home in the past ten years with no end in sight. In the past year or so, the talk of Japan's differences has heated up as former PRIDE stars haven't always fared as well in America as they did in PRIDE, and current Japanese superstars like Shinya Aoki and Gegard Mousasi disappointing in dominant losses on American soil within the past year. One of the key differences, though? Athletic commissions. 

In the United States, there are athletic commissions involved, which set rules and sanction bouts. Athletic commissions are in place for many things, one of the big reasons is for fighters' safety when they are competing. It came out in a recent interview with Kazuo Misaki that he injured his ankle and required shots of painkillers so that he could compete. To no one's shock, this has yet to really be addressed as in Japan, there are no athletic commissions to monitor or test the athletes. It isn't clear from here what Misaki had injected into him or what sort of advantage it would give him in a fight, but regardless that would not fly in the US. There has been some debate over the use of Cortisone shots in MMA, and it is plausible that is what Misaki used here, but that could compromise Misaki's safety if his ankle was further injured. 

In an interview from 2007, NSAC's Keith Kizer discusses why many drugs that are not steroids are tested for, and why they are considered illegal.

In the past, the main reason steroids is illegal or prohibited, just like marijuana, just like alcohol, just like aspirin to take before a fight is because it puts the athlete at risk. It's a danger to him. For example, aspirin can cause you to bleed into your brain. Obviously marijuana and alcohol can change your reflexes, slow them down, so you can get injured, or it could numb the pain so you don't realize you're hurt. That's why we don't let fighters, for example, to have cortisone shots into their back or into their hand before they fight because they can not realize they're hurt and they keep fighting and the next thing you know they're permanently damaged.

Since this happened in Japan, Misaki did absolutely nothing illegal or even wrong, according to the rules, but this should raise some serious questions and start some discussion as to what the hell goes on in Japan and how they might need to look to the future and emerge from the dark ages. They need to begin worrying about the health of their fighters, and I say this after we heard that Kazushi Sakuraba will most likely be competing at DREAM.16 against Mayhem Miller. No US athletic commission would license Sakuraba at this point, I believe.

SBN coverage of Sengoku Raiden Championship 14