Legislature looks at banning "Extreme Fighting"

State legislators are considering state regulations for a sport called “extreme fighting”. Did ya see the Brad Pitt movie “The Fight Club”? It featured the sport, where combatants throw punches with their fists, feet and even their heads to try to knock out their opponent. Unlike professional boxing, wrestling or shoot fighting, extreme or ultimate fighting features amateurs and is not regulated by the state. A bill that’d establish state oversight of extreme fighting is ready for debate in the Iowa House, and members of the Senate Labor Committee want to go to an extreme fight at a Des Moines bar that’s putting up a ring and charging admission to extreme fights. Senator Mary Lou Freeman of Alta says they just want to discover what it’s all about before they establish regulations. Why establish state rules for those who play the sport? She says the rules would be for the participants families.Extreme Fighting has become a popular attraction on pay-for-view cable television. Senator Sandy Greiner of Keota isn’t sure the sport should even be legal in Iowa.Iowa Golden Gloves President John Connors is also a state legislator, and he’s sponsoring the bill that’d regulate extreme fighting. He says all other forms of sports, including “tough man” contests, are well regulated for the safety of the participants.Larry Dawson of the Iowa Athletic Commission says Generation X is attracted to extreme fighting. Dawson says young people dislike traditional sports, like golf, ’cause they’re too passive and want a sport where there’s a chance someone’s going to get seriously injured.