| Tennessee and the UFC |
The Daily Times reports. Critics, fans, it doesn’t matter. Dana White dares them all to find a promise he has not kept.
And it’s the truthfulness of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s president that has proponents of the emerging mixed martial arts industry excited about the future of their sport in the state of Tennessee.
“We’re going everywhere,” White said. “Anywhere we think we can come down and we can sell some tickets and put on a great event, we’re going to do it.”
But with several of those potential sites lying within Tennessee’s borders, White and the rest of the UFC officials are in a holding pattern because the sport of mixed martial arts is currently illegal in the state.
However, according to Melissa Bast, who was hired to help further the legalization process, White and representatives from other mixed martial arts organizations may not have to wait much longer.
With a bill addressing the issue likely headed to a summer studies committee, Bast said she hopes to have legislation passed by May 2008 and feels events in Tennessee could be held as early as December of next year.
Despite numerous bills being proposed on the matter, Bast said the diligence put into the current legislation — including the differentiating between mixed martial arts and boxing — helps it carry more credence.
“Before we go legalizing another combat sport, we wanted to make sure that we got it right the first time,” Bast said. “We didn’t want to legalize it this year and have some of the problems with the boxing boards spill over to the mixed martial arts community.”
If Bast’s prediction holds true, the opportunities that would come with legalization in the state of Tennessee have the UFC excited about the possibilities.
“We would love to come to Nashville or to Memphis. That certainly is one of our goals,” said Marc Ratner, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the UFC.
“… And I do believe we will have the sport approved in the next year or less, and we’re anxious to come before the Tennessee legislature when the day comes and try to educate them and talk about it.”
The FedEx Forum in Memphis and the Sommet Center (formerly the Gaylord Entertainment Center) in Nashville are likely targets for future events and would be looking for the same financial benefits other cities have found in recent months.
Houston and Columbus, Ohio each hauled in around 3 million dollars in ticket sales alone from UFC cards this year. Texas and Ohio are just two of the 23 states that have legalized mixed martial arts – with legislation in Illinois and Michigan pending.
The fight to legalize the sport is nothing new to White and Ratner, who point to a collective unawareness as the main reason for the lack of acceptance by the opposition.
“There are a lot of people who think it is still 1995 when the sport had no rules, no weight classes and they said anything goes,” claimed Ratner, a former member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “We have to get over that misconception.”
And with opponents clamoring about the brutality and danger that comes along with the sport, White points out the UFC has never seen a death due to competition, while taking the argument a step further.
“Do you know how many high school football players die every year playing high school football?” asked White, who has seen the implementation of nearly 30 new rules since being part of a group that purchased the UFC in 2001.
“That isn’t reported. You don’t even hear about it. You know why? Because it’s football. We love football. We grew up watching football. The UFC, people are afraid of because they don’t know anything about it."
But that might not be the case for long, with pay-per-view revenues in 2006 far eclipsing that of World Wrestling Entertainment and boxing.
The growth is also being felt on a local level. Josh Cate, who heads the mixed martial arts program at Premier Martial Arts in Knoxville, said the program is averaging six new students a month.
Cate also said he expects the growth to increase even more if Tennessee legalizes the sport in the coming year.
“I definitely see that when MMA becomes legal in Tennessee and they can go right down the road and see a show, people are going to want to learn it,” Cate said. “If we do a show on campus, every college guy is going to want to learn how to do that.”
And they may not have to wait much longer.
If you live in Tennesse check out our Tennessee UFC Bars list!
| " | “There are a lot of people who think it is still 1995 when the sport had no rules, no weight classes and they said anything goes,” claimed Ratner, a former member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “We have to get over that misconception.” |
