Push for the expansion of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to combat sports continued this year with another Congressional Subcommittee Hearing. This time, the questions were pointed specifically about the impact the Ali Act might have on MMA.
In December, Randy Couture, Dr. Kristen Dams-O’Connor, Pennsylvania Athletic Director Greg Sirb and the UFC’s Marc Ratner testified at the hearing. The most interesting exchange came from the bill’s sponsor Markwayne Mullin and Ratner. Taking on the appearance of a contentious cross-examination, Ratner was grilled about the UFC and the rankings system. He also questioned the matchups of certain events including why the UFC allowed Georges St Pierre to get a title shot against Michael Bisping despite coming back from a long absence.
Boom! #UFC pic.twitter.com/2ySxBkvtkn
— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) November 9, 2017
In addition to the hearing, Bellator filed a Statement supporting the Ali Act. Jon Fitch also filed a statement. He also authored an op-ed in the Washington Examiner the same day as the hearing. On the other end, Marc Ratner provided a statement opposing the Ali Act expansion.
Despite talk that Conor McGregor would be willing to testify before Congress, that rumor did not come to fruition.
We will see if there is enough congressional support for Mullin to bring it to a vote before the House or whether there will be a need for more education on the Act before it can move forward. Thus far, there are 58 co-sponsors for the bill.
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