State law will help regulate sport
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The sport of mixed martial arts won an important round last week in its fight for legitimacy.
The Hawai'i Legislature enacted a bill into law last week that creates several regulations for promoters and fighters to follow.
Most notable, MMA participants must pass neurological examinations prior to a bout in Hawai'i, and all fighters may be subject to drug tests and criminal and medical background checks.
"This is the ultimate validation of our sport," said Patrick Freitas, promoter of the Icon Sport organization — the state's most successful MMA production.
A similar bill was enacted into law in 2005, but the regulations in that version were vague.
"This law is much stronger than the last one," Freitas said. "This is going to create a safe environment for the promoters and the fighters."
Among the highlights in the new law:
The new law is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2009.
"The positive thing is that we're going to clean up the sport," Freitas said. "But in the process of doing that, it's going to cost us in a lot of ways."
In particular, Freitas said smaller productions may not be able to afford to test all its participants.
"The big shows like Icon Sport can still find success," he said. "But the small guys are going to have a tough time staying in business and that's going to ultimately affect everybody because those small shows are the feeders for the big shows — that's where we find a lot of our fighters."
What's more, the new law will also charge promoters with a licensing fee.
The fee will be 3 percent of the first $50,000 in gross receipts of ticket sales, and an additional 2 percent for total gross receipts over $50,000. There will also be a 2 percent fee on the gross sales of any broadcasting, television or Internet revenue.
It is also worth noting that a state commission for mixed martial arts was not created.
The director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will be in charge of enforcing the new law.
"There's going to be a lot of bureaucracy to move through now," Freitas said. "But ultimately this is good for the sport. It's a big step in the right direction."
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.
