Report: Iowa senate votes to deregulate MMA

According to the Associated Press, the Iowa Senate approved a bill last Wednesday to end regulation of mixed martial arts.

Senator Bill Dotzler said in the AP report that the senate chose deregulation because they could not agree on whether to ban the sport or modify its regulations.

The bill, approved by a margin of 35-12, would allow the state to not assume liability in an event a fighter is injured or dies.

Marc Ratner, the UFC's vice president of government and regulatory affairs, was quoted as calling the bill "nonsensical" and said the UFC could not stage an event in Iowa without state regulation.