Mixed martial arts and boxing matches could be prohibited in Tennessee by July 1, according to a report by nashvillesportsmix.com. The Tennessee Athletic Commission, which was set up in 2008, is anticipated to dissolve on July 1 unless new legislation is passed on Feb. 12.
At that point, MMA and boxing events would end up being illegal in the Volunteer State. According to the report, the lack of significant occasions in the state the past couple years has actually led to diminishing revenues, making the commission challenging to keep from a financial viewpoint. Early in its existence that was not the case, as the UFC twice brought fight cards to Tennessee in 2009, consisting of UFC 107, a pay-per-view event in December that saw B.J. Penn defend his lightweight title versus Diego Sanchez in Memphis. In April 2010, Strikeforce held a star-studded event in Nashville that was telecast on CBS and infamously ended with a post-fight melee in between Jake Shields’ camp and Jason Miller.
Nevertheless, big-ticket events have mainly vanished ever since. The UFC has actually been back simply as soon as, for UFC on FX “Guillard vs. Miller” on Jan. 20, 2012, a card that did not have the star power of its predecessors in the state. That Friday night card drew a disappointing participation of 7,700, according to the report. The local shows held across the state have not made sufficient cash to support the TAC, which has actually had to rely on state funding to make it through. That will certainly not hold true if new regulation is not presented next month. The TAC has actually been struggling for several years now, but it was given a short-lived reprieve last January, when a bill was introduced to extend the commission till June 30, 2015.