Michigan, Others May Regulate Amateur MMA Fights

Michigan lawmakers are considering legislation that would regulate amateur mixed martial arts bouts to protect fighters from injury and disease.

The Legislature passed a law in 2007 allowing MMA fights, but it only stipulated guidelines for professional fights, not amateur ones.

No one tracks all of amateur fights that happen in Michigan, but one promoter estimates that there are five on any given weekend.

Promoters aren’t required to carry insurance that would cover amateur fighters or to require blood testing.

Michigan is one of about a dozen states where amateur mixed martial arts bouts are legal, but unregulated.