NJ Trainer Finds Way To Make MMA Even More Dangerous

North Jersey resident Phillip Dunlap who trains fighters for Amateur Mixed Martial Arts fights in New Jersey pleaded guilty today to submitting false documents so that his athletes could fight without undergoing mandatory physical examinations and medical tests. The bogus submissions included medical forms to the State Athletic Control Board.

Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Dunlap be sentenced to a term of probation. He must perform 200 hours of community service and pay a $5,000 fine.

Dunlap admits that from 2007 through 2011, he submitted false or forged documents, including medical forms and consent to fight forms, to the State Athletic Control Board (SACB), which regulates Amateur Mixed Martial Arts (AMMA). The medical forms certified that a doctor had examined certain fighters whom Dunlap trained and that they were medically cleared to participate in AMMA contests. The consent to fight forms certified that the fighters signed the form.

An investigation by the SACB and the Division of Criminal Justice revealed that the fighters did not receive the physicals, the doctor did not sign the medical forms, and the fighters did not sign the consent forms. After the SACB discovered the fraud, it suspended the fighters from any AMMA fights in New Jersey and referred the matter to the Division of Criminal Justice.

“The State Athletic Control Board’s main concern will always be the health and safety of the combative sport competitor, and the integrity of the contest,” says SACB Commissioner Aaron Davis.  “We are committed to working jointly with the Division of Criminal Justice in stopping the fraudulent submission of medical forms to the State of New Jersey. Every trainer investigated and arrested for this type of crime enables us to further uphold the integrity of the sport.”