Final Hurdle Cleared in Legalization of MMA in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania residents will now be able to enjoy watching home grown fighters such as Eddie Alvarez compete in their home state.

Final regulations were approved today and now such lucrative markets as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh can begin hosting MMA events. This was the final step for the State Athletic Commission. The process began in July of 2007 when the voters passed draft regulations allowing MMA events in the state.

The first step was for the House & Senate Committees, the office of the Attorney General and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission to evaluate and approve the guidelines under the Regulatory Review Act.

Items under the review process were age and medical requirements, fees, promoter activity, ring requirements, fight-night medical requirements and the fans safety at events. The whole process took over 19 months.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes commended the State Athletic Commission for their work on the regulations which will insure the fighters and fans safety. He also stated that the efforts made will assure licensing and testing fighters for diseases as well as having emergency personnel at MMA events and having adequate insurance for the combatants. He also said that maintaining the crowd will keep the events orderly and will make sure everyone is safe.

The SAC, which receives no tax revenue and is completely self supportive, estimates that it will earn $80k per year from fees generated by hosting MMA events. That does not include any revenue that would be generated if the UFC or another large organization were to hold an event in the state.