Iowa Gets Serious About MMA
Jake Rossen Mar 11, 2010
Use a critical eye to evaluate the physiological concerns in combat
sports and you will understand that the biggest threat to the
health and safety of mixed martial artists exists at the amateur
level. State regulators that have jurisdiction over professional
bouts and take measures to protect participants often have no
authority or ability to audit the hundreds of amateur events taking
place in their territory.
What does this mean? It means that a fighter with no self-awareness can get knocked out in one event and fight in another a week later. It means that 17-year-olds can lie about their age -- as a kid in Iowa did, with a broken eye socket as his reward -- and compete against grown men. It also means the battery of blood, neurological, and record testing present at the professional level evaporates.
For years, Iowa has held the shame of being ground zero for this kind of Russian roulette. Now, thankfully, legislators are taking steps to hold promoters accountable for the bouts they promote. Bill SF2286, currently in the Senate, would mandate insurance policies for amateur cards and create stricter guidelines for screening combatants.
Promoters, naturally, are balking at ponying up money for medical coverage, but what else is new? Opportunists looking for a quick buck aren’t exactly renowned for their sense of responsibility.
This is a start, but what amateur MMA is in desperate need of is an organization akin to USA Boxing -- something that acts as adjudicator at a sub-professional level. Events today will inevitably play host to the athletes we’ll be putting on magazine covers tomorrow. There should be an authority looking out for their interests, and it should not be the same entity that has one hand in their pockets.
What does this mean? It means that a fighter with no self-awareness can get knocked out in one event and fight in another a week later. It means that 17-year-olds can lie about their age -- as a kid in Iowa did, with a broken eye socket as his reward -- and compete against grown men. It also means the battery of blood, neurological, and record testing present at the professional level evaporates.
For years, Iowa has held the shame of being ground zero for this kind of Russian roulette. Now, thankfully, legislators are taking steps to hold promoters accountable for the bouts they promote. Bill SF2286, currently in the Senate, would mandate insurance policies for amateur cards and create stricter guidelines for screening combatants.
Promoters, naturally, are balking at ponying up money for medical coverage, but what else is new? Opportunists looking for a quick buck aren’t exactly renowned for their sense of responsibility.
This is a start, but what amateur MMA is in desperate need of is an organization akin to USA Boxing -- something that acts as adjudicator at a sub-professional level. Events today will inevitably play host to the athletes we’ll be putting on magazine covers tomorrow. There should be an authority looking out for their interests, and it should not be the same entity that has one hand in their pockets.
