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Oklahoma to suspend all pro wrestling and MMA events

Posted: Mar 17th 2012 By: mikeiles

With MMA growing in popularity throughout the country, one state has slammed the door on all combat sports.

Effective March 31, the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission will no longer be accepting new applications for combat sport events to be held within the state. This includes professional wrestling, MMA, and boxing.

Joe Miller, Executive Director of the Athletic Commission, issued a letter to all promoters in Oklahoma on March 5 explaining the situation.

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.

Oklahoma currently taxes PPV buys made by residents 4%, no matter where the events are held. UFC, operated by Dana White, says they plan to sue the Commission to stop the tax. The Commission claims that without the tax, they can't maintain the overhead needed as an authority. The tax accounts for 2/3rds of their budget, and is responsible for 65% of the Commission's revenue receipts.

In an email to MMAValor, Miller stated the costs of regulating events in the state of Oklahoma

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.

After speaking to a representative for the Commission in Oklahoma City while writing this, one boxing event is confirmed for April 7. This event was scheduled and confirmed in February of last year, well before any news of the UFC's intent to sue became public.

Until the threat of the lawsuit is resolved, all licenses have been revoked, including for events already scheduled. WWE has a live RAW broadcast set for October 1 in Oklahoma City. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale this summer. Calls and emails to World Wrestling Entertainment have gone unanswered as of this writing.