Mixed martial arts, whose phenomenal growth in recent years has made it a lucrative business, is on the verge of being legalized in Illinois.
Legislation to legitimize and regulate the sport has been approved overwhelmingly in the Illinois House (the state legislative body as published has been corrected in the headline as well as in this text) and is expected to be voted on by the Senate as early as Wednesday. If so, Ultimate Fighting Championship, one of the sport’s biggest promoters, hopes to bring an event to Illinois by year’s end.
If the mixed martial arts act is adopted, Illinois would become the 23rd state to sanction the sport, which once was banned across the country and dismissed as glorified bar fighting.
But as the sport has cleaned up its image, successfully marketed itself with emphasis on the desired 18- to 34-year-old male demographic and adopted rules that forbid previously permitted tactics such as eye-gouging, head-butting, biting, groin attacks and hair pulling, mixed martial arts events and the millions of dollars they generate have gained mainstream respect.
With that has come entree into cable TV and respected venues such as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Up to now, small mixed martial arts events have been staged across Illinois, including about 60 last year. One of the largest, an International Fight League team competition, is slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Sears Centre. But these events have not been regulated by or generated revenue for the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which is the state’s athletic commission.
Instead, the commission granted them waivers.
If the Illinois Senate approves ultimate fighting and the governor signs it into law, it will be fine-tuned with specific requirements such as an oversight board and personnel in attendance at events, including referees and ambulances. That will be done by a joint legislative commission on administrative rules, along with the athletic commission.
Once that is accomplished, “we are bullish on bringing an event to Illinois by the end of the year,” said Marc Ratner, UFC vice president of regulatory affairs. He is the former executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, a pioneer in sanctioning mixed martial arts events alongside boxing.
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mhirsley@tribune.com
