CSAC Says “Yes” to MMA, Hurdle Cleared for Sport in Golden State
Josh Gross Feb 23, 2005
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 – Despite objections from California State
Athletic Commission Chairman Christopher Mears, the regulatory body
voted 4-1 on Tuesday in favor of adopting Full Contact Martial Arts
rules and regulations, virtually identical to the guidelines
established by the widely used mixed martial arts Unified
Rules.
Following a brief yet compelling public comment period, highlighted by a powerful presentation by Zuffa, promoter of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, commissioner Mike Carona, who flew in by helicopter from Orange County to attend the hearing, indicated he was prepared to accept the rules as they stood and called a motion to vote.
Out of the blue the CSAC, which to that point had moved with the
speed of a dial-up Internet connection, jumped at the chance of
deciding the issue. Vice-Chair John Frierson, Bruce Jenner, and
Armando Vergara sided with Carona (commissioners Dr. Gary Gitnick
and Gene Massey did not attend).
Mears, whose desire to have an “extensive discussion of the rules” in a special hearing was trumped by the pragmatism of his colleagues, voted against the motion, not as an objection to California’s regulation of MMA, but as a protest to the process in which the rules were passed.
Jenner, who earlier this month expressed a willingness to revisit the rules and modify them to include a more liberal standard, underwent a change of heart.
“A lot of people looked those rules over with and you’ve got to trust them from that standpoint,” said the commissioner. “Plus, we’ve put this off for so long I thought it was extremely important that we moved forward.”
In doing so, the CSAC adopted regulations that had been established in 2003 in an attempt to make an end-run around the state’s Budget and Finance office. That effort failed, but the rules—MMA-specific guidelines folded into a batter of kickboxing legislation—remained.
The Hearing
Advocates for modification included Hideki Yamamoto, a Senior Vice President of Dream Stage Entertainment, promoter of Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championship; Turi Altavilla, Vice President of Production for DSE; and Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, a four-time member of the California Martial Arts Advisory Committee, who in 2000 and 2003 played a major role in writing the state’s MMA rules and regulations, and continues to this day to be an advisor to the commission on all matters Martial Arts.
“As long as the rules that are adopted are protecting the fighters, which is paramount important, or at least can’t be proven that it hasn’t been protecting the fighters, then they should be able to come in and promote under the umbrella of the California Athletic Commission,” a frustrated Hamilton told the body to begin the public comment period.
Speaking on behalf of DSE, Altavilla specifically mentioned six guidelines his company wished to include if it were to promote in the state: the PRIDE round and scoring structure; equipment use, such as the ability of fighters to wear a gi or shoes; the use of knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent; and, perhaps most important, the ability to hold fights in a ring as opposed to a cage, the norm for many North American events.
As he had done in November ’04 (the last time the commission met in a public forum) Altavilla also cited statistics compiled over the course of several years that DSE hoped would mollify any commissioner who might be hesitant to vote for a more liberal set of rules.
Arguing against change to the Unified Rules, Zuffa COO Kirk Hendrick proceeded to weave together an excellent case. Keeping what were tantamount to the Unified Rules established in New Jersey, a meeting noted Hendrick, that included PRIDE representatives, was critical to the health and growth of MMA and the UFC.
He also mentioned that the rules showed last year to lawmakers in Sacramento—the impetus by which the CSAC was finally granted jurisdiction over MMA—were the same ones in front of them on Tuesday.
“Those rules were designed to become and actually have become the regulatory model for every state to follow,” Hendrick said. “As a result, consistent sets of rules have been created for the fans and the athletes.”
In an ironic twist, Hendrick invoked Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona—the strongest critic of the UFC during the mid-1990s—as an ally in his argument against deviating from the Unified Rules. To go back and include kicking and kneeing the head of a downed fighter, rules that “were just not sportsmanlike” in the previous incarnation of the UFC, would be counterproductive, he said.
“It would be the same as if you turned back the clock a century and you were asked to regulate boxing,” Hendrick told to the commission. “Would you have the chance now for California to say, ‘It might bring a few more fights to California if we just allow one low blow a round. That would be fair. How about a couple of rabbit punches a round?’ To go backwards in time, to deviate from what is set now and is determined to be a legitimate sport in this country, is going backwards.”
A former Nevada chief deputy attorney general and legal counsel to that state’s athletic commission, Hendrick suggested that rule changes could also lead to another television ban, the likes of which plagued MMA during the mid- to late-90s.
“You will not be the forefathers and at the forefront of this sport,” he forcefully warned the CSAC, “you will be the pariah.”
Consistency was the theme echoed by Referee “Big” John McCarthy and fighter Ken Shamrock, both of whom spoke on behalf of the Unified Rules.
“Having a fighter understand that the rules that they’re fighting under don't change only protects the fighters more because they know what they can do and what they can’t,” McCarthy said. “And it helps the officials who are a part of that sport in doing their job correctly, too.”
“We’ve always tried to make it safer, to make it safer for the athletes,” said Shamrock, who wore a banged up nose that did not go unnoticed by the commission. “And by allowing kicks on the ground and allowing knees on the ground, we are not making it safer. We are making it more dangerous than it already it is. And me being a fighter, I do not want to get kicked in the head if I’m on the ground.”
If the commission was not moved to act based on the testimony of those associated with the sport, lobbyist Tim Lynch of Platinum Advisors, hired by Zuffa to push its agenda in Sacramento, spoke a language understood by the quorum.
“This commission is also due up before the Sunset Review Committee in the next six weeks and will be in Sacramento answering before the Legislature,” Lynch said. “I do not want to raise another issue for them.
“We’ve been involved in this process with the Legislature and I would hate to see us have to go through that route again because of changes made that the Legislature is not comfortable with.”
Taking time that would have been Yamamoto’s, Altavilla attempted to rebut. “I want to stress that there are lot more similarities than differences between our rules and the proposed rules,” he said. “Again, we’re looking for flexibility. We’re not trying to dictate.
“We must stress that statistics prove that these methods (PRIDE rules) have been proven safe.
“Our rules are different, but they are just as safe. And we are looking out for the fighters.”
“You understand, we also have to be concerned with perception,” interjected Mears, moments before his fellow commissioners outflanked him.
The Aftermath
“I can’t speak for the commissioners,” said CSAC outgoing interim Executive Officer, Dean Lohuis, “but my feel for it was everything had been discussed before, they had adequate time to go over everything and they needed to make the decision for the sport. To ask the sport and ask the people to wait another six weeks, two months, would have been cruel and I they felt it was better to do a decision now than waiting.”
Yamamoto was “disappointed” but said PRIDE’s interest in coming to the United States will not waiver. The Japanese company was licensed to promote in Nevada in 2002, and considering it leaves allowances for the use of a ring, something the California rules do not, it may look to that state as an entry point.
However, an option exists in the rules that allows for exhibitions and championship matches featuring modified rules, leaving the door open for multiple scenarios, including a potential unification fight between PRIDE and UFC champions.
The UFC, meanwhile, is on the verge of bringing its event to the biggest boxing state in the Union. (Last year, California regulated 126 cards, more than double its closest rival, Texas, which hosted 56.)
“California represents probably the largest fan base for the sport of mixed martial arts [in the United States],” said UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta. “Second, it’s in the interest, not just of the UFC but the sport of mixed martial arts, that the more states that allow this type activity the more legitimate it’s going to be; and it’s going to allow the sport to flourish and grow. And that’s really what’s most important at the end of the day.
“Certainly when we come to California we want to do it in the biggest way possible and depending upon the timeframe of the California Commission to be able to get all the rules and regs in place and officials in place and everything, we would like to come here in a large fashion by doing a show at the Staples Center.”
There are several steps before that can happen, starting with 90 days worth of pulling and prodding from several state offices. A budget request must also be sent to and approved by Sacramento.
In November, a request of $46,000 was denied, but Lohuis indicated that was because procedurally, things were off kilter. Back on track, a new budget—considerably larger than $46,000—should be signed off by the state’s Budget and Finance office, and sanctioned mixed martial arts cards could be held in the state as early as June.
California already has its share of native MMA promotions, including KOTC, WEC and Gladiators Challenge, all of which take place under the protective umbrella of sovereign Native American lands. Unlike the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act that federalized all boxing commissions, including those on Native American soil, Tuesday’s vote does nothing to impact MMA promoters who continue to operate on reservations.
Now that the option may be there to leave the reservations, it shall be seen how these organizations react. Clearly, an influx of new promoters will flood into the state, a good thing for the coffers in Sacramento as well as young fighters who had been forced to fight in unsanctioned fights because other options were not available to them.
Unlike the failed attempts to make rules into law (2000 and 2003), the commission now has the weight of a friendly Legislature behind it and a Governor who sees the addition of the sport as a moneymaker for the state, not a black eye.
Summing it up best was Shamrock, a resident of California since he was 5 who made San Diego home to the famous Lion’s Den gym: “This is a fighting state. You’ve got the best grappling fighters in the world in California. … To be able to have [MMA] here on our turf would be awesome.”
Following a brief yet compelling public comment period, highlighted by a powerful presentation by Zuffa, promoter of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, commissioner Mike Carona, who flew in by helicopter from Orange County to attend the hearing, indicated he was prepared to accept the rules as they stood and called a motion to vote.
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Mears, whose desire to have an “extensive discussion of the rules” in a special hearing was trumped by the pragmatism of his colleagues, voted against the motion, not as an objection to California’s regulation of MMA, but as a protest to the process in which the rules were passed.
“I think more time was needed,” the Chairman said afterwards.
Jenner, who earlier this month expressed a willingness to revisit the rules and modify them to include a more liberal standard, underwent a change of heart.
“A lot of people looked those rules over with and you’ve got to trust them from that standpoint,” said the commissioner. “Plus, we’ve put this off for so long I thought it was extremely important that we moved forward.”
In doing so, the CSAC adopted regulations that had been established in 2003 in an attempt to make an end-run around the state’s Budget and Finance office. That effort failed, but the rules—MMA-specific guidelines folded into a batter of kickboxing legislation—remained.
The Hearing
Advocates for modification included Hideki Yamamoto, a Senior Vice President of Dream Stage Entertainment, promoter of Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championship; Turi Altavilla, Vice President of Production for DSE; and Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, a four-time member of the California Martial Arts Advisory Committee, who in 2000 and 2003 played a major role in writing the state’s MMA rules and regulations, and continues to this day to be an advisor to the commission on all matters Martial Arts.
“As long as the rules that are adopted are protecting the fighters, which is paramount important, or at least can’t be proven that it hasn’t been protecting the fighters, then they should be able to come in and promote under the umbrella of the California Athletic Commission,” a frustrated Hamilton told the body to begin the public comment period.
Speaking on behalf of DSE, Altavilla specifically mentioned six guidelines his company wished to include if it were to promote in the state: the PRIDE round and scoring structure; equipment use, such as the ability of fighters to wear a gi or shoes; the use of knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent; and, perhaps most important, the ability to hold fights in a ring as opposed to a cage, the norm for many North American events.
As he had done in November ’04 (the last time the commission met in a public forum) Altavilla also cited statistics compiled over the course of several years that DSE hoped would mollify any commissioner who might be hesitant to vote for a more liberal set of rules.
Arguing against change to the Unified Rules, Zuffa COO Kirk Hendrick proceeded to weave together an excellent case. Keeping what were tantamount to the Unified Rules established in New Jersey, a meeting noted Hendrick, that included PRIDE representatives, was critical to the health and growth of MMA and the UFC.
He also mentioned that the rules showed last year to lawmakers in Sacramento—the impetus by which the CSAC was finally granted jurisdiction over MMA—were the same ones in front of them on Tuesday.
“Those rules were designed to become and actually have become the regulatory model for every state to follow,” Hendrick said. “As a result, consistent sets of rules have been created for the fans and the athletes.”
In an ironic twist, Hendrick invoked Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona—the strongest critic of the UFC during the mid-1990s—as an ally in his argument against deviating from the Unified Rules. To go back and include kicking and kneeing the head of a downed fighter, rules that “were just not sportsmanlike” in the previous incarnation of the UFC, would be counterproductive, he said.
“It would be the same as if you turned back the clock a century and you were asked to regulate boxing,” Hendrick told to the commission. “Would you have the chance now for California to say, ‘It might bring a few more fights to California if we just allow one low blow a round. That would be fair. How about a couple of rabbit punches a round?’ To go backwards in time, to deviate from what is set now and is determined to be a legitimate sport in this country, is going backwards.”
A former Nevada chief deputy attorney general and legal counsel to that state’s athletic commission, Hendrick suggested that rule changes could also lead to another television ban, the likes of which plagued MMA during the mid- to late-90s.
“You will not be the forefathers and at the forefront of this sport,” he forcefully warned the CSAC, “you will be the pariah.”
Consistency was the theme echoed by Referee “Big” John McCarthy and fighter Ken Shamrock, both of whom spoke on behalf of the Unified Rules.
“Having a fighter understand that the rules that they’re fighting under don't change only protects the fighters more because they know what they can do and what they can’t,” McCarthy said. “And it helps the officials who are a part of that sport in doing their job correctly, too.”
“We’ve always tried to make it safer, to make it safer for the athletes,” said Shamrock, who wore a banged up nose that did not go unnoticed by the commission. “And by allowing kicks on the ground and allowing knees on the ground, we are not making it safer. We are making it more dangerous than it already it is. And me being a fighter, I do not want to get kicked in the head if I’m on the ground.”
If the commission was not moved to act based on the testimony of those associated with the sport, lobbyist Tim Lynch of Platinum Advisors, hired by Zuffa to push its agenda in Sacramento, spoke a language understood by the quorum.
“This commission is also due up before the Sunset Review Committee in the next six weeks and will be in Sacramento answering before the Legislature,” Lynch said. “I do not want to raise another issue for them.
“We’ve been involved in this process with the Legislature and I would hate to see us have to go through that route again because of changes made that the Legislature is not comfortable with.”
Taking time that would have been Yamamoto’s, Altavilla attempted to rebut. “I want to stress that there are lot more similarities than differences between our rules and the proposed rules,” he said. “Again, we’re looking for flexibility. We’re not trying to dictate.
“We must stress that statistics prove that these methods (PRIDE rules) have been proven safe.
“Our rules are different, but they are just as safe. And we are looking out for the fighters.”
“You understand, we also have to be concerned with perception,” interjected Mears, moments before his fellow commissioners outflanked him.
The Aftermath
“I can’t speak for the commissioners,” said CSAC outgoing interim Executive Officer, Dean Lohuis, “but my feel for it was everything had been discussed before, they had adequate time to go over everything and they needed to make the decision for the sport. To ask the sport and ask the people to wait another six weeks, two months, would have been cruel and I they felt it was better to do a decision now than waiting.”
Yamamoto was “disappointed” but said PRIDE’s interest in coming to the United States will not waiver. The Japanese company was licensed to promote in Nevada in 2002, and considering it leaves allowances for the use of a ring, something the California rules do not, it may look to that state as an entry point.
However, an option exists in the rules that allows for exhibitions and championship matches featuring modified rules, leaving the door open for multiple scenarios, including a potential unification fight between PRIDE and UFC champions.
The UFC, meanwhile, is on the verge of bringing its event to the biggest boxing state in the Union. (Last year, California regulated 126 cards, more than double its closest rival, Texas, which hosted 56.)
“California represents probably the largest fan base for the sport of mixed martial arts [in the United States],” said UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta. “Second, it’s in the interest, not just of the UFC but the sport of mixed martial arts, that the more states that allow this type activity the more legitimate it’s going to be; and it’s going to allow the sport to flourish and grow. And that’s really what’s most important at the end of the day.
“Certainly when we come to California we want to do it in the biggest way possible and depending upon the timeframe of the California Commission to be able to get all the rules and regs in place and officials in place and everything, we would like to come here in a large fashion by doing a show at the Staples Center.”
There are several steps before that can happen, starting with 90 days worth of pulling and prodding from several state offices. A budget request must also be sent to and approved by Sacramento.
In November, a request of $46,000 was denied, but Lohuis indicated that was because procedurally, things were off kilter. Back on track, a new budget—considerably larger than $46,000—should be signed off by the state’s Budget and Finance office, and sanctioned mixed martial arts cards could be held in the state as early as June.
California already has its share of native MMA promotions, including KOTC, WEC and Gladiators Challenge, all of which take place under the protective umbrella of sovereign Native American lands. Unlike the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act that federalized all boxing commissions, including those on Native American soil, Tuesday’s vote does nothing to impact MMA promoters who continue to operate on reservations.
Now that the option may be there to leave the reservations, it shall be seen how these organizations react. Clearly, an influx of new promoters will flood into the state, a good thing for the coffers in Sacramento as well as young fighters who had been forced to fight in unsanctioned fights because other options were not available to them.
Unlike the failed attempts to make rules into law (2000 and 2003), the commission now has the weight of a friendly Legislature behind it and a Governor who sees the addition of the sport as a moneymaker for the state, not a black eye.
Summing it up best was Shamrock, a resident of California since he was 5 who made San Diego home to the famous Lion’s Den gym: “This is a fighting state. You’ve got the best grappling fighters in the world in California. … To be able to have [MMA] here on our turf would be awesome.”
