Mandurah MMA pro backs return of cage fighting | POLL

True Grit trainer and Ray Karaitiana, who has been fighting professionally for eight years, said bringing back the mesh octagon would boost safety and minimise the risk of serious injury within the sport.

“It’s ridiculous not to have the cage at the moment – people are fighting in rings where they can easily fall out and hit their heads,” he said.

“They (the state government) took away the cage and portrayed us like animals, but the octagon was there for safety reason, and now the sport is far more dangerous than it was.”

WA Labor announced on Tuesday that it would return the Octagon to MMA bouts if elected, saying it would increase safety and protection for all mixed martial arts athletes and allow Ultimate Fighting Championship events to be legally staged in WA.

The state government imposed the ban on the cage in March 2013, making WA the only place in the world where MMA fighting is legal but the octagon is not.

Despite the prohibition being met with outrage from the MMA community, Premier Colin Barnett has reiterated his distaste for the sport a number of times.

"I see it [cage fighting] as a violent, aggressive sport. I'm not against boxing or wrestling. I just don't think we need to go down the path of cage fighting in WA," Mr Barnett said when defending his stance in late 2015.

Karaitiana has fought in New Zealand and the eastern states, where the octagon is legal, and said it was a much safer practice.

“It definitely puts my mind at ease knowing if someone tries a take down on me I’m not going to be falling out of the back of a ring,” he said.

The Australian Medical Association condemned WA Labor’s decision to return the mesh barrier to WA bouts, saying the sport encouraged the cause of brain injuries.

“Cage fighting has the aim of causing concussion and brain injury for participants and has no place in modern society,” the association issued in a statement.

“Not only should both political parties ensure that cage fighting remains banned in Western Australia, we’d like to see MMA itself banned in this state,” he said.

But local MMA trainer Chantel Green backed Labor’s choice, saying the sport was no more dangerous than any other full-contact game.

“People think MMA is barbaric, but it’s no more barbaric than rugby or football – they’re just contact sports and injuries can happen,” she said.

“Every fight is fully refereed and every safety precaution is taken, except having the barrier which the ban took away the safety of.

“In MMA, if fights get too close to the cage, the ref re-centres the fighters. That small measure in itself takes away a lot of danger.”