Mason City, IA- A proposed law in Iowa's State Legislature is aimed at regulating amateur mixed martial arts fights.
This proposed law would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to participate in a mixed martial arts fight, it would also require fighters to take a physical before stepping into the ring.
Mike Estus is an amateur mixed martial arts fighter. He says most athletes from Iowa start out as wrestlers. He took a more non-traditional route.
"I started professional boxing with Chad Briggmeyer in 2004, I was a really good amateur boxer, got second in Golden Gloves, and he also does MMA promotion besides boxing," Estus said.
Estus made his debut in MMA at a venue in Waterloo, but most fighters get their start in front of a much smaller crowd, where you can find Rory Prazak keeping the bouts clean.
"When I'm refereeing what I watch honestly is the guys eyes because you can tell if somebody gets hit you can tell a lot by their eyes," Prazak said.
He says few people in MMA fights are under the age of 18. Both he and Estus say requiring a physical exam before fights isn't a bad idea.
"You should be able to take a physical and stuff like that it's good to be healthy before you go in there I mean if you're not healthy or your blood pressure isn’t good then you probably shouldn't be in there," said Estus.
"But I think it is a good Idea to make sure somebody is physically capable of doing it, so somebody doesn't get severely injured," said Prazak.
They also say it’s important to know who’s got what blood borne pathogen like HIV and Hepatitis.
State lawmakers wanted to impose changes in the sport after reports of people fighting while drunk, or after getting knocked unconscious earlier in the night.
Prazak says requiring promoters to get a permit, and keep better tabs on fighters will help clean up the sport.
"In a way I do think it is good if they shut down people that allow somebody who's been knocked out previously in the evening those are the types of people that you cannot have fight cause they can get seriously injured."
The state boxing commissioner also wants to impose sanctions on amateur mixed martial arts fights.
Including having fighters sign up a week before fights and having promoters provide the names of referees and on site doctors.
Prazak says those changes would kill the small promoters of the sport.
Iowa's house members passed an amended version of the bill and sent it back to the state senate. If passed by the legislature, it will head to the governor for his signature.
