Post by SteveHulk on Oct 26, 2012 21:39:16 GMT -5
Sad news... I remember him commentating on the early UFC's, then going on to be a judge.
**One of the earliest advocates of Mixed Martial Arts Jeff Blatnick has passed away at the age of 55 following complications from a recent heart surgery. Blatnick was an Olympic gold medalist at the 1984 summer games in Greco Roman Wrestling after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1982. He would later transition into a commentator where he worked at the 1988 games. His connection to the UFC came through Bob Meyrowitz, who was then running Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG), which was the parent company of the UFC. Blatnick began at UFC 4 in December 1994 calling the show with Bruce Beck and Jim Brown and added credibility to the sport that was not present at the time. It was on that night that Blatnick watched accomplished wrestler Dan Severn be submitted by Royce Gracie and grew an appreciation for jiu-jitsu after that night rather than the hardened stance a lot of wrestlers would have toward another art. Blatnick remained with the UFC until June 2001 when he was let go by the company shortly after the purchase by Zuffa LLC earlier that year.
Blatnick’s contributions by assisting in bridging the gap between “No Holds Barred” and what is today known as “Mixed Martial Arts” cannot be understated. He helped design the rules of what modern MMA represents and is credited by some as even coining the term “Mixed Martial Arts” and along with Big John McCarthy would be two of the key people going to various states and presenting the “new look” version of MMA. It was the New Jersey Athletic Control Board that was the first commission to adopt the unified rules in 2000 with Blatnick also playing a role in that milestone.
Blatnick served as a judge across the country and was scheduled to work at the UFC on FOX 5 event on December 8th in Seattle.
**One of the earliest advocates of Mixed Martial Arts Jeff Blatnick has passed away at the age of 55 following complications from a recent heart surgery. Blatnick was an Olympic gold medalist at the 1984 summer games in Greco Roman Wrestling after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1982. He would later transition into a commentator where he worked at the 1988 games. His connection to the UFC came through Bob Meyrowitz, who was then running Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG), which was the parent company of the UFC. Blatnick began at UFC 4 in December 1994 calling the show with Bruce Beck and Jim Brown and added credibility to the sport that was not present at the time. It was on that night that Blatnick watched accomplished wrestler Dan Severn be submitted by Royce Gracie and grew an appreciation for jiu-jitsu after that night rather than the hardened stance a lot of wrestlers would have toward another art. Blatnick remained with the UFC until June 2001 when he was let go by the company shortly after the purchase by Zuffa LLC earlier that year.
Blatnick’s contributions by assisting in bridging the gap between “No Holds Barred” and what is today known as “Mixed Martial Arts” cannot be understated. He helped design the rules of what modern MMA represents and is credited by some as even coining the term “Mixed Martial Arts” and along with Big John McCarthy would be two of the key people going to various states and presenting the “new look” version of MMA. It was the New Jersey Athletic Control Board that was the first commission to adopt the unified rules in 2000 with Blatnick also playing a role in that milestone.
Blatnick served as a judge across the country and was scheduled to work at the UFC on FOX 5 event on December 8th in Seattle.