Staff Writer

Mixed martial arts events may soon find their way to the Pine Tree State, thanks to a proposed bill in Augusta.

State Rep. Matt Peterson (D-Rumford) has sponsored a bill that would regulate mixed martial arts events in Maine, which would include ultimate fighting – a combat sport that allows various fighting techniques, including boxing, amateur wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission wrestling.

Peterson said the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation will be in charge of regulating the sport if the bill is passed. He said the state athletic commission, which was previously under the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, was dropped last year as a cost-saving move because it operated at a budget loss.

If passed, Maine would be the third state in New England to allow mixed martial arts. New Hampshire is currently the only state in New England to regulate the sport, while Connecticut only allows mixed martial arts events in casinos.

As of press time, Massachusetts’s legislators were considering a similar bill to regulate mixed martial arts fights. Peterson said the sport is legal in Massachusetts, however, the boxing commission does not sanction it. In Maine, mixed martial arts fights are both unregulated and illegal, he said.

Peterson said he has family and friends who fight professionally throughout New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut and wanted to bring a bill forward to legalize the sport in Maine.

“My brother fought for a title in New Hampshire a couple of years ago and sold 160 tickets to his Maine friends,” Peterson said. “That’s 160 fans that spent money on tickets, travel, food and lodging out-of-state when they would have preferred to watch him fight here at home. Maine is missing out on a golden opportunity to showcase the skills of our athletes and generate some much-needed income.”

According to an April 17 story in the Boston Herald, a financial study was presented by Ultimate Fighting Championship Counsels Lawrence Epstein and Michael Mersch, as well as Ultimate Fighting Championship Vice President of Regulation and Governmental Affairs Marc Ratner to the Massachusetts public safety committee. Their study showed that a Ultimate Fighting Championship event (which is considered the top mixed martial arts promotion in the United States) at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston and the Worcester DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., would generate a total of $12.3 million.

“Let’s say we come to the Garden,” Ratner said to the committee. “Between the [Ultimate Fighting Championship] staff, the fighters, their camps, the production and all the TV people, there’s a traveling circus of about 200 people. They’re all here for a minimum of three nights. That’s 600 [hotel] room nights before we even sell a ticket.”

Peterson, who referred to the same study, said $9.4 million would be generated in local spending in Boston, while $2.8 million would be spent in Worcester. He said the events would also produce $775,000 in tax revenues and employ 600 workers, according to the study. Peterson said most of the revenue comes from people who travel out of state to watch the shows. 

State Rep. Rob Hunt (D-Buxton) said Maine isn’t as big as Massachusetts, and while he didn’t know the exact numbers, he said $80,000 to $100,000 wouldn’t be out of the question for an event held at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Peterson said there is a high interest in mixed martial arts among Maine citizens, and there have been Maine residents who have successful careers in the sport. He said former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia and current World Extreme Cagefighting Featherweight Champion Mike Brown – a Bonny Eagle High School graduate – are from Maine. Marcus Davis, Dale Hartt and Tim Boetsch, who all currently compete for Ultimate Fighting Championship are also from Maine. 

Peterson said both Brown and Davis testified in favor of the bill during an April 14 hearing before the state business, research and economic committee.

Hunt, who is on the committee, said legislators seemed in favor of the bill.

“My general feeling was the committee was leaning toward it,” he said.

Peterson said legislators who initially opposed the bill had concerns for the safety of fighters. However, Peterson said safety statistics have shown mixed martial arts is safer than boxing and there have been no serious injuries or deaths in any of the major, sanctioned mixed martial arts organizations.

Hunt said he was told a mixed martial arts event could be put together quickly if the bill were passed.

“There were a couple of promoters [at the hearing] and a promoter for one of the minor league organizations from Boston said it would take him three weeks to set up an event at the [Cumberland County] Civic Center,” Hunt said. “But sometimes people talk a big game, especially promoters.”

Peterson said the proposed bill has generated a good response from legislators.

“I’ve had many positive conversations with our representatives and senators about the sport,” Peterson said. “Once they’ve given some context and education about the sport, it doesn’t take long to realize that these aren’t brawlers that climb off a barstool and into the cage to throw down – these are elite athletes that undergo many years of martial arts training to do what they do come fight time.”

Staff writer Dave Dyer can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 219.