Shaw jumps on bandwagon

A former regulator who once had a hand in denying a license for mixed martial arts is now trying to take the sport to new heights.

Gary Shaw was a member of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Commission in the 1990s when the commission turned down a request to stage an MMA event in the Garden State.

"I thought it was the wild, wild west," said Shaw, who left the commission to become a successful boxing promoter. "Since that time, there have been rules, medical regulations that have gone into effect, and I have come to appreciate the sport more by watching and studying it."

Shaw is now heading up live events for Elite Extreme Combat, the newest promotion to enter the expanding MMA landscape. EliteXC will hold its first event Feb. 10 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss.

Source: The Houston Chronicle