Judo boss Sergey Soloveychick: "MMA is not a sport"

Derrick Lewis punches Ruan Potts in their heavyweight bout during the UFC 184 event at Staples Center on February 28, 2015
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Mixed Martial Arts is "not a sport, it is some kind of show" according to the European Judo Union president.

Mixed Martial Arts is "some kind of show", according to European Judo Union president Sergey Soloveychick.

Glasgow lost the right to host the European Championships because of British Judo's sponsorship deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

"MMA is not a sport, it is some kind of show," Soloveychick told BBC Sport. "It is not good if your opponent is on his stomach and you sit on him and beat his head.

"It's not good for the education of the young generation, so we don't like to promote this kind of organisation during our competition. The spirit is to destroy your opponents by different ways and this is not good."

The European Judo Championships will now be held as part of the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June.

UFC Image 15th November, 2013
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