Henri Hooft and Greg Jones, coaches at Sanford MMA have been fined and suspended for breaking COVID-19 protocols.
Both coaches were suspended for three months and fined 500 dollars which will be taken from Jackson’s purse. Both coaches broke their quarantine to go to Jason Jackson’s hotel room to train with him.
“It’s erroneous (and) disrespectful to Bellator and the industry in general,” Mike Mazzulli told MMA Junkie immediately following the conclusion of the Bellator 253 news conference.” I don’t care who you are when it comes to a trainer. I wouldn’t expect Randy Couture (to break protocol). I wouldn’t expect (anybody) to do this. It’s a public health issue. They were wrong and that’s what they get.”
Not only are they suspended for three months at the Mohegan Sun, Mazzulli hopes all the other commissions will recognize the severity of it and honor the suspension. So, it could impact Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns’ title fight on Feb. 13 as Hooft is the head coach of Burns.
“I hope all ABC members in the country – well, we have ABC members all of over the world – but in the country will adhere to these suspensions of these two trainers,” Mazzulli said. “We have to set precedent here to show how important it is and make sure you follow the quarantine protocols.”
The commission also make it clear the punishments will only be more severe if Hooft and Jones are caught doing it again.
