Alabama Becomes #44

There were no better friends to mixed martial arts in the 1990s than states like Alabama, which had a hands-off, morality-free attitude toward gory spectacle. There’s real history there: Mark Coleman made his debut in Birmingham; the UFC’s greatest single-night tournament was held there in ’96; Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson made their promotional debuts; Renzo Gracie knocked out Oleg Taktarov. (The arena was three-quarters empty, but these things take time to catch on.)

With the passage and installation of a state athletic commission -- which previously didn’t even exist for boxing -- Alabama has become the 44th state to recognize the sport. That leaves only three states with fully operating commissions who have yet to get their act together: West Virginia, New York, and Connecticut.

What these three puritanical settlements have failed to understand is that prizefighting is a sport ushered in by the people. And because of the interest, events are already happening in those states without any kind of regulatory structure. The mistake is in assuming they have a moral string to pull. The reality is that people decide their own morality: it’s then up to the state to qualify and arrange limits.

Is a community worried about foisting negative impressions on children? Mandate the minimum age to attend a live event at 18. Worried about the safety of combatants? Impose regulation instead of sitting idly while haphazard promotions run underground.

Alabama gets it. The rest are looking painfully ignorant in the comparison.