Bill creates rules
for new sport of
‘mixed martial arts’

Ron Nicholas isn't quite sure what he is watching when he attends local Super Brawl events, but that doesn't keep him from looking.

Nicholas is an investigator for Hawaii's Regulated Industries Complaints Office, and his office never misses a fight in Hawaii. Nicholas shows up to make sure mixed-martial-arts promoters are following their own rules, suggesting changes when he sees something out of whack -- like a fighter out of shape or no doctor at ringside.

But if Gov. Linda Lingle signs recently passed Senate Bill 768, which is currently on her desk but does not require action until July 12, Nicholas might be able to do more than make suggestions -- he will be able to levy a fine of up to $10,000.

The bill attempts to bring some order to a relatively new sport in Hawaii, a sport that might or might not be illegal here.

The law currently on the books outlaws "no rules combat, extreme or ultimate fighting or similar contests."

Bill 768 retains the same language but adds provisions allowing promoters to hold shows.

In the bill, the conditions making no-rules combat legal are:

Although the sport is known around the world as mixed martial arts, promoters call it "pancreation" when the state gets involved. Both the law currently on the books and the new bill do not cover "a contest involving the exclusive use of boxing, wrestling, kickboxing or martial arts," and pancreation was included in the first Olympics and is considered its own martial art.

The Hawaii State Boxing Commission has begun studying whether to become an athletic commission, which would put mixed-martial-arts shows like Rumble on the Rock and Super Brawl under the same scrutiny as boxing events.

The promoters are in favor of regulation, as long as they have some say in the decisions being made.

"Of course, regulation is a good thing because what we have is a legitimate sport," Rumble World President J.D. Penn said. "I'm just worried about who is going to make the decisions. I'm all for it if we can sit down and have a big discussion first."