Arbetet med att legalisera MMA i hela USA har fått sig en törn då den atletiska kommissionen i Oklahoma meddelar att de inte kommer att ta emot ansökningar om att hålla kampsportsgalor i delstaten efter månadens slut.
”The purpose of this letter is to inform you the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission will not be accepting applications for event permits for events scheduled after March 31, 2012. The Commission is faced with an out-of-state threat that, if successful, could greatly affect the Commission’s ability to provide for the public safety and for the health and safety of the athletes for future events throughout the state of Oklahoma. The Commission is currently trying to address legal and legislative efforts which have given us serious concerns about how we move forward with adequate oversight of Oklahoma’s boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling events. As you know, the primary focus of this agency is to make sure the athlete’s health, and safety is not compromised. We take this charge very seriously. The Commission and I will be working diligently to address these issues and develop a plan of action to return to a normal course of business.”
Hotet som beskrivs i pressmeddelandet är UFC som vägrat att acceptera att kommissionen kräver fyra procent av intäkterna från alla PPV:s som säljs i deltstaten oavsett om galan hålls där eller inte. Tanken är att intäkterna ska finansiera kommissionens arbete och kommissionens ordförande förklarar:
”It takes approximately $360K for the Commission to provide regulation for the approximately 275 events per year we regulate. The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission does not receive any state funding. We are funded solely from license fees, assessment on live events, and an assessment on pay-per-view events. We receive approximately $137K per year through license fees and assessments on live events. Receipts from Pay-per-view are approximately $240K per year. About $80K per year comes from UFC PPV. The UFC has threatened a law suit against our PPV law unless our legislature repeals our PPV law during this legislative session. The Commission loses either way. OK has been collecting on PPV since 2004 and this is the first time the issue has been brought to light. For the Oklahoma Commission to survive and for Combat Sports to continue in Oklahoma it will be up to the Oklahoma legislature to come up with a solution to the funding shortfall. You can do the math.”
UFC har besökt Oklahoma vid två tillfällen, för UFC 4 och UFC Fight Night 16, vilket är en indikator på att de inte är i direkt behov av en kommission i den delstaten. Inte tillräckligt mycket för att vara villiga att öppna plånboken för en kommission vars tjänster de mycket sällan använder. Istället har jurister kopplats in på samma sätt som i New York för att få igenom sin vilja.
