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Legislation takes aim at extreme fighting
The Washington bill, which has faced little opposition, focuses on the dangers of uneven matches
03/01/04
MARISA DORAZIO
OLYMPIA -- A bill sailing through the Legislature could deliver a knock-out punch to no-holds-barred fighting, including Toughman contests.
Toughman or extreme fighting is similar to professional boxing, but participants slugging it out have little training.
"The bill speaks for itself," said sponsor Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield. Amateur fighting "is very dangerous and has caused the death of many people across the country."
The bill addresses "situations where people are unhealthy and unequally matched," Zarelli said.
Senate Bill 6103 passed the House Commerce and Labor Committee unanimously late last week.
But the measure drew criticism from Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, who was one of three who voted against the bill in the Senate. Honeyford, whose district includes parts of eastern Clark County, said people who stepped into the ring need to take responsibility for their actions.
Others are taking the gloves off and going after Toughman contests.
"It is targeted to any type of event that puts the safety of a participant at risk," said Barry Druxman, a ringside official and president of the International Professional Ring Official Association.
He said more than a half-dozen states have a similar ban on extreme fighting, including Oregon, Nevada and Illinois.
Druxman said the problem with Toughman contests is that contestants fight as many as three or four times a night.
"In professional boxing, after you fight, you have at least a seven-day suspension" before fighting again, he said. FIGHTING B2
I found this on maxfighting.com....click on the "Legislation aims at Extreme fighting" link
Are they actually trashing MMA?....or are they just calling Toughman extreme fighting?....
"A bill sailing through the Legislature could deliver a knock-out punch to no-holds-barred fighting, including Toughman contests."
I think they are lumping MMA in with Toughman
MMA is sanctioned in Nevada and Oregon. This article is poop
Shall we bombard?...
EricM, I'm not sure....look at the first sentence..."no-holds barred fighting, including Toughman"
I think Eric is correct, but we need to be ensured that MMA doesn't get caught up in the mix.
TTT for contact info
letters@news.oregonian.com for letters to the editor
I can't find an e-mail address for the woman who wrote the article
This has already been addressed in Wa state. We are legal with MMA or Pankration. It's all in the wording. We have never been able to call it Extreme Fighting or Ultimate Fighting.
Toughman is no longer legal!
That sucks. Matt Lindland just promoted the first pro event in Oregon last week.
www.sportfight.com
www.thefcff.com
www.desertbrawl.com
Toughman is bullshit, but (as anyone here who is reading this obviously knows) to link MMA to Toughman is roughly equivalent to comparing kickball on the playground to professional football. NO connection whatsoever!! It really makes you wonder if the legislatures in some states have any members that could defeat Gary The retard of Howard Stern fame in a battle of the wits.