Mixed martial arts already has a storied history in Hawai'i, even though the sport has been around for just more than a decade.

On Wednesday, a new chapter will be started.

In accordance with Chapter 440E of the Hawai'i Revised Statutes, MMA will become regulated under the state's jurisdiction.

"I'm fine with it — I've always wanted the state to oversee it in some way," longtime Hawai'i MMA promoter T. Jay Thompson said. "I think the laws they have come up with are right along the lines of Nevada and California. It seems to be in the best interest of the fighters, and I have no problem with that."

A significant change will require all fighters, promoters, judges and referees to be licensed in Hawai'i if they want to be affiliated with a professional event here.

Also, the promoters of professional MMA events will be subject to various fees payable to the state of Hawai'i — including a percentage of the gate receipts and pay-per-view sales.

Alan Taniguchi, executive officer of the state's Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, will serve as de facto commissioner. However, he emphasized that there is no state commission for MMA, and the state's boxing commission will have nothing to do with the MMA regulations.

"The purpose of these rules and regulations is to assure the health and safety of the contestants," Taniguchi said.

In addition to getting licensed, fighters will have to pass a physical examination, and complete blood tests to check for HIV and/or hepatitis.

If a fighter wants to continually compete in Hawai'i, those blood tests would have to be renewed every six months. Also, a license will have to be renewed every two years, at a price of $695 for each renewal.

The costs would come out of the budgets of either the promoters or individual fighters.

"No question, it's going to be tougher financially to run a show now," Thompson said. "But a lot of us were paying for this already — physicals, medical insurance, that kind of stuff."

PAY TO PROMOTE

What is new for promoters is the state fee on gate receipts.

Any professional MMA show staged in Hawai'i must now pay the state 4 percent of the first $50,000 in gross receipts of admission fees. Any shows grossing more than $50,000 will be charged an additional 3 percent.

Under that structure, a show that sells 5,000 tickets at an average price of $40 per ticket will have to pay the state $6,500.

In 2013, the fee will increase to 6 percent.

Taniguchi said the state came up with the fee structure after studying MMA regulations in other states.

Nevada, for example, collects 4 percent of the gross ticket sales from MMA shows.

Keith Kizer, director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said Hawai'i's new regulations "compare very similarly" to Nevada.

"That's probably a good thing," Kizer said. "There's always a fear that some state will create new laws that are completely different from what everybody else is doing. But it sounds like Hawai'i is right in line."

Taniguchi said the collected fees will go into "a separate fund" that could eventually come back to help the sport.

"Hopefully we'll get enough to host seminars and clinics for the judges and referees, things like that," he said.

UFC TO HAWAI'I?

The prestigious UFC organization has never staged a show in Hawai'i.

That could change.

Marc Ratner, the UFC's vice president of regulatory affairs, described the Hawai'i regulations as "encouraging."

He said the UFC refused to come to Hawai'i in past years because the sport was not regulated by the state.

"We run to regulation," Ratner said. "Hawai'i has always had a huge, huge following, and we've always wanted to come there. But we have to make sure it's economically feasible."

A major source of income for the UFC is pay-per-view television sales.

The Hawai'i regulation will charge promoters 2 percent of all pay-per-view sales, with a cap at $50,000. Nevada has the same cap.

Ratner said the UFC can now think about a potential show in Hawai'i because of the pay-per-view cap at $50,000. UFC pay-per-view shows often make more than $40 million in gross sales.

"If there was no cap, we would not come, because giving up 2 percent of our gross pay-per-view sales would be prohibitive," Ratner said. "But what I'm hearing about Hawai'i is very encouraging. Of course, we have to see it all in writing, but it sounds like it is similar to other states where we've conducted business."

Most of the world's most popular MMA athletes compete in the UFC, including lightweight world champion BJ Penn of Hilo.

UFC president Dana White has previously stated that he would like to see Penn defend his UFC title in Hawai'i.

Scott Coker, president of the California-based Strikeforce organization, said he might also look into a future show in Hawai'i because of the new regulations.

The Strikeforce organization features several world-class fighters familiar to Hawai'i fans, including Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields and Gina Carano.

"The fees they're asking for are nothing different from what we pay for a show in Las Vegas," Coker said. "If we could just figure out a way to bring Hawai'i a little closer (to the Mainland). That would help even more."

RANDOM DRUG TESTS

The new regulations in Hawai'i allow for drug testing of any competitor.

Taniguchi said such tests would be conducted on a "case by case" basis, and only after a fight. He said there are no plans for pre-fight testing.

A list of banned substances has not been created, but Taniguchi said it would include steroids, other performance-enhancing drugs, and illegal street drugs.

One drug test per fighter can cost around $150, and would come at the expense of the promoter.

Thompson, president of the Hawai'i-based Kingdom MMA organization, said he is "fine" with random drug testing.

"If it scares guys away, they don't deserve to be fighting anyway," Thompson said. "We talk about these guys being role models, so they should live up to those standards."

PROTECTING FIGHTERS

To assure the safety of the fighters, promoters will now have to pay to provide two licensed physicians at every event, and have an ambulance ready on site. Also, at least $50,000 in medical insurance must be provided for each event.

"I think it's a good thing," said Mike Miller, president of the Hawai'i-based X-1 organization. "It's going to keep the fighters safe. It makes the sport more legitimate, even though a lot of it is coming out of our pocket."

Fighters can also be suspended by the state for a certain period of time if they suffer a loss via knockout or other brutal method.

"In boxing, it's an automatic 30-day suspension after a TKO or knockout," Taniguchi said. "I imagine it will be similar for MMA."

Taniguchi said he will also look at the past records of fighters before approving a card. In the past, fighters on suspension in another state competed in Hawai'i.

"Now they can't do that, although they shouldn't have been doing it before," Taniguchi said. "We know there are some promoters who are not happy with some of the rules and fees. But if they don't want to look out for the health and safety of the people they are promoting, they shouldn't be in the business."

SKIRTING THE RULES

Taniguchi admits there is a flaw in the new regulation — amateur MMA events are not covered.

"I think you will see promoters putting on more amateur shows," he said. "That's unfortunate because you can get hurt just the same."

Taniguchi said amateur shows will not be subject to the state fees and medical requirements.

Thompson said he would like to see the rules adjusted to include amateur events.

"I don't want to see any promoter cutting corners," Thompson said. "And the possibility of that is really scary. Who's to stop a promoter from putting a fighter on the card and calling him an amateur, then paying him under the table?"

Taniguchi said he will try to form an "advisory committee" composed of unpaid members of the MMA community to assist with decisions.

"People need to give it time," he said. "We will listen. We can always adjust and tweak the rules as we go along."

Thompson said: "Everything appears to be fair and moving in the right direction. But until I do a show under this jurisdiction and see what it's really like, I reserve the right to change my mind."