How a Bill Becomes a... Mixed Martial Arts Regulation
Whenever a new state passes legislation to regulate mixed martial arts, fans in that state (and around the country) rejoice, and Dana White heads to his Twitter account. Unfortunately, the excitement (while warranted) is often premature. Consider Alabama for example.
On May 21, 2009, Alabama Governor Bob Riley signed into law Senate Bill 98 which created the Alabama Boxing Commission. Less than a year later on March 22, 2010, the Governor signed Senate Bill 327 which renamed the Commission the "Alabama Athletic Commission" and provided for the regulation of mixed martial arts.
What many people may not realize, however, is that passing a law to regulate MMA isn't the same thing as actually regulating MMA. A "mixed martial arts law" typically provides that the Athletic Commission shall create the rules and regulations governing the sport. That can take a while.
In March, a member of the Alabama Athletic Commission opined that creating the regulations in that state could take up to eight months. Thus far, that process has not been completed. In fact, the regulations aren't yet even in place to govern boxing in Alabama.
Although things sometimes move significantly faster (like in Iowa) it is important to remember that even when a bill switches from being "just a bill" to being a law, it's still not the end of the road in MMA.
