What is the Ali Act and why should you care?

Need for a federal law to protect the fighters

The UFC brass has approached legal aid in fighting the Ali act from being implemented in MMA

The debate has caught fire recently, and with Congressman Markwayne Mullin planning to introduce the legislation resulting in the expansion of the Act to cover the sport of MMA, people have been divided in their opinions.

While the state athletic commissions lay down the regulations, a federal mechanism is needed to ensure the legality of the contracts of the fighters. It comes as no surprise then, that certain organizations have taken a stance against the bill being passed.

While it is true that the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act caters to the problems in boxing (it is a different topic altogether how successful it has been), it makes all the sense in the world to make a few amendments and introduce the legislation, catering it to the athletes in MMA.

It could also have a snowball effect, carrying onto unionization of fighters – something quite a few fighters have been lobbying for. But the individual nature of the sport takes the wind out of the sail of any such initiative, preventing any concrete progress from being attained.

With the sport being in its infancy in India, the need for such federal law hasn’t been discussed about yet. With the eventual growth of professional boxing and MMA, India too would need a regulatory commission in the near future.

There have already been cases of promoters taking advantage of the fighters, which have hindered the progress of the sport. Only time will tell if things change, but the landscape of MMA can quickly change, leading to an interesting period in the sport.