Bill introduced in Wisconsin to regulate MMA
At issue: Should ultimate fighting be regulated? In a nutshell Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that doesn’t…
At issue: Should ultimate fighting be regulated?
In a nutshell
Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that doesn’t regulate mixed martial arts contests, also known as ultimate fighting, according to the Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts competitors use a variety of boxing, martial arts and wrestling tactics in one-on-one cage matches that are increasingly popular but controversial.
Bills introduced in the Legislature late last month would impose the same types of regulations on MMA as Wisconsin has for boxing. Among the requirements: Fighters must be examined before and after a match, a physician and ambulance must be present, competitors must have health insurance and fighters’ blood must be tested for HIV, hepatitis, steroids and, for female fighters, pregnancy.
The case for it
Wisconsin already hosts hundreds of unregulated matches a year in programs of 10 to 15 bouts per night, said Evan Zeppos, a lobbyist for the UFC. The Alliant Energy Center in Madison is among the venues.
“What we’re proposing in the bill is trying to advance a set of safety standards,” Zeppos said.
State Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, said he sponsored the bill to add some safeguards to MMA.
The case against it
Some accustomed to martial arts and boxing believe MMA is unnecessarily violent and dangerous. No formal opposition to the bill has yet emerged, but the American Medical Association urges states to ban the sport. That’s what New York did in 1997. A lawmaker there has battled to keep it out.
“Legal moves include punching a grounded opponent, kneeing and kicking an opponent in the body and head while holding him/her, choking, elbowing an opponent in the head,” Assemblyman Bob Reilly said his 2009 report, “The Case Against Ultimate Fighting in New York State.”
To get involved
Bipartisan-sponsored bills have been introduced in both houses. Assembly Bill 438 is in the Committee on Consumer Protection chaired by Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh. He can be reached at rep.hintz@legis.wisconsin.gov or 608-266-2254. Senate Bill 290 is in the Senate Labor Committee chaired by Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee. Contact him at sen.coggs@legis.wisconsin.gov or 608-266-2500.