Zahabi using bitcoin, Net to get around bizarre Quebec grappling ban

There are some weird laws worldwide. In Florida establishments with a liquor license are prohibited from holding any activity, promotion, or contest, that endangers a person with dwarfism. So no dwarf tossing. Not to be outdone. Montreal banned Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, and earlier this year an event was shut down by the Montreal police (SPVM)

The SPVM, acting on an internal legal memo that included Jiu-Jitsu as a combat sport, i.e. having strikes (an encounter or fight with fists, hands or feet), according to section 83 of the Canadian Criminal Code, informed the Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu-Jitsu committee that they would proceed to enforce the section to arrest any participant in the tournament. Furthermore, they informed the committee that the Municipal Prosecutor of Montreal intended to prosecute every such case to court. It should be noted that the commander of the SPVM in charge of the complaint did not know that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) was different from Jiu-Jitsu and did not have any strikes in its matches.

Firas Zahabi is one of greatest coaches in MMA, and found a way around the absurd prohibition. Zahabi holds his Pure Victory Championship online and pays winners in BitCoin. He discussed it in an interview with Jamie ‘Crypto’ Redman for BitCoin.com.

“Recently they made grappling events illegal where I’m from here in Quebec, and then they made events illegal in Ontario,” explained Zahabi. “Quebec is a hotbed for grappling talent, and the biggest MMA event in the world called the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) is happening soon, and two of my students are attending this year. So grappling in Quebec is really popular, but the local governments made it illegal because there was bickering back and forth between event promoters that were calling the cops on each other. They were trying to cancel each other’s events and corner the market.

“Law enforcement got tired of all these calls, and now we are not allowed to have grappling events. Grappling is perfectly legal still, but holding grappling events here is illegal. Alongside this, Canada recently declared bitcoin as a commodity, and to the government, it’s not money, not a currency. So I’m not allowed to hold events and give out prize money, but we are allowed to film and upload ourselves fighting online. And now the fighters get bitcoin, and it’s kinda like them getting a free t-shirt or swag, because I am giving them a commodity as a prize for participation. We thought it was an excellent idea and the viewers can tip the fighters as well and our grapplers have been making money during an event. The grapplers are also enthusiastic about competing again in the future and the audience absolutely loves it.

“It’s been all positive feedback and people are following the events. We only have four episodes so far and the fifth episode should launch next week. It’s really creating a great buzz with just four episodes.

“They’ve been getting roughly $100-300 dollars in bitcoin between winnings and tips. Don’t forget that they’re getting bitcoin and that could be worth a lot in the future. This is only after one match, and when you grapple you have to pay to compete, so it helps the fighters earn. Further, these episodes could still give fighters some earnings, and after twenty videos it will create a fishnet effect. I think the fighters haven’t finished collecting and once they get more and more popular they create a bigger following, and the prizes will get bigger.

“They need to let young fighters have a place to release their energy. If these kids can’t find anything to do they will likely find some trouble and grappling is such an amazing outlet for the youth. Not only are they getting fit but they are exercising their minds, and they are building a whole community. We are a thriving community, and they just came and shut us down. Could you imagine if they made baseball events illegal? I don’t understand it, these kids need an outlet rather than being in the pool halls and the streets. Martial arts is one of the most constructive things a human being can do, especially in their youth.

“So I said let’s decentralize jiu-jitsu. If we can’t have grappling events how can we monetize our skills? The middleman is just such a problem, he’s always sticking his hands in our pocket and always bullying us. So let’s decentralize our jiu-jitsu, let’s make it so the audience can see the competitors compete, pay them in cryptocurrency, and remove the middleman.

“So my next phase for Pure Victory Championship will be global and what I’m going to do is let fighters film their match, and if your game is good enough I will air it, and the winner will get $300 in cryptocurrency. Which is a lot for fighters just starting off, and the internet is hard to stop.

“They love it, every fighter loves it. Look at the price of bitcoin right now. The guy who recently got $100 worth of BTC is pumped as it’s worth about $300-400 right now.”

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