Jack Encarnacao of Sherdog.com spoke with UFC VP of Regulation, Marc Ratner, as a follow-up to yesterday’s news that MMA has been officially regulated in Massachusetts.
The UFC is planning to stage a pay-per-view card at the TD Garden — formerly The Boston Garden — in July or August, said Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice president of regulatory affairs.
“We have a call already into the Garden and we’ve been looking at a couple of different dates,” Ratner said. “Now we’ll narrow it down and see what’s best for them and the company. (Massachusetts) was one of the premier destination states that we’ve been looking at for the last three years. It’s been a long pregnancy, is what I call it.”
Governor Deval Patrick signed MMA regulations into law Monday. Sen. James Timilty, whose district includes Kenny Florian’s hometown, first proposed the legislation last year as a budget amendment, but it did not pass before the end of the session. It sailed through the state house of representatives and senate this year, and came out of a conference committee faster than expected.
In a unique provision, local cities and towns will have the option to deny an application to hold an MMA card in their community. Timilty said the provision is not likely to present an issue.
“I don’t think a promoter or any entity that is legitimate or professional would want to force an event into a community that didn’t want it,” he said.
The three-member state boxing commission will become the state athletic commission with two new members, including one with an extensive MMA background. The commission will begin discussing their internal regulations this week. The law does not take effect for 90 days, during which time local MMA promoters will be allowed to put on shows without complying with new requirements like paying a gate tax and licensing fighters.
“There’s going to be very little start-up time that they need to be ready,” Timilty said of the athletic commission. “We worked very hard on the drafting and it appears they’re ready to go.”
Payout Perspective:
Two primary notes of interest here:
1.) The UFC now looks to be planning shows in three new markets over the span of five spring/summer months in 2010: Abu Dhabi, Vancouver, and Boston. It’s not just about what new markets will do for the live gate, either. There’s something about a live show – it’s local media coverage, the atmosphere in the town, etc. – that is unlike any other promotional tool for the sport of MMA (or the UFC). These are important steps the UFC is taking.
2.) Interesting tidbits about the way the bill was written. By now it seems they’re getting pretty good and setting down the acts, and minimizing the time required for a commission to set-up to control MMA. (Also, note: the bill was written with a provision that allows local townships to deny the application of any promotion to hold an event.)
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