Ultimate Fighting: Will Illinois Legalize It?

CHICAGO - A controversial sport called ultimate fighting draws thousands of fans. But is it really a sport, and should it be more heavily regulated? NBC5's Peggy Kusinski investigated the sport and what Illinois legislators are doing about it.

A dozen years ago, Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain called ultimate fighting "human cockfighting."

Ultimate Fighting Championship is a registered trademark called "UFC", which hosts and promotes mixed martial arts competitions. In the past, MMA events were more brutal; new rules have made it less bloody.

Kusinski reported that there were 1.6 million viewers for a one fight last October, which outdrew a Major League Baseball playoff game.

"The only thing we don't do better ratings than is the NFL," said Kirk Hendrick, chief operating officer of UFC.

One MMA fighter and trainer, Jeff Curran, said he knew doctors, lawyers, schoolteachers, among others, who were fans of the sport.

Another MMA fighter, Mike Corey, said his grandmother was a fan of the sport.

Kusinski reported that the sport takes mixed martial arts to an extreme, combining wrestling with boxing, karate and judo. It is entertaining like professional wrestling, but with no predetermined outcomes.

"It's not staged like WWE," said MMA fighter Mark Miller. "We don't have sideshows and ladder matches, and people hitting each other with chairs."

Fighters train four to six hours a day, and many were collegiate All-Americans, Kusinski reported.

Illinois helped lead the charge to ban the sport, but now, it's back. Still illegal in Illinois, state lawmakers are considering an amendment that could mean the return of ultimate fighting.

But is it a sport that deserves to be sanctioned? That's the ultimate question Illinois lawmakers are debating.

"UFC fighting typified itself as a blood sport," said state Rep. Al Riley. "That is what they marketed themselves on. Let's be real clear about that."

State Sen. Jim DeLeo sponsored the bill, and said if MMA events and the UFC are coming to Illinois, the events should be regulated. (The UFC trademark was banned in Illinois while MMA events still go on.)

Sean Curtin, the former Illinois boxing commissioner, says the sport might just live up the hype.

"It's a brutal sport. Someone will get killed, and then they'll regulate it," Curtin said.

Curtin said he agreed with Riley that ultimate fighting was not a sport.

But ultimate fighter Matt Hughes says it isn't all about violence; it's about competition.

"I'm about as easy going as you get. I really am," Hughes said. "I'm not a violent person, but when it comes to me being a competitor, I am. I'm fiercely violent as a competitor."

An amendment to the Illinois Boxing Act passed two state House committees and awaits full Senate approval. If it is passed, it would legalize and regulate ultimate fighting in Illinois.

"If it's coming to Illinois, I certainly think it is very important that it is regulated," said state Sen. James DeLeo, who is co-sponsoring the bill.

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White told the Chicago Sun-Times that he hopes to hold a UFC event in the state by the end of the year if the ban is lifted.

"These aren't barbarians falling off a barstool, still with a beer bottle in their hand," Hendrick said. "These are legitimate, highly-trained, full-time athletes."

Ultimate fighting is no longer a no-holds-barred cage match as it was 13 years ago, Kusinski reported. There are new rules in place to protect the fighters, such as no more eye-gouging, head-butting, hair-pulling or elbows.

Hughes testified before the Illinois Senate recently, reassuring them that new regulations would demand insurance for fighters and medical personnel on site.

"There's really no one else who can say that," Hughes said. "Whether it be NASCAR (or) football. The state's going to make money from it, so it's a plus for fighter safety, and a plus for the state."

Source: www.nbc5.com