MMA LEGALIZED IN PENNSYLVANIA

By Mitch Gobetz

Pennsylvania has become the latest state to remove the ban of mixed martial arts. There was a meeting held yesterday with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission to remove the ban, and apparently, they will begin to write the regulations.

After an online petition was submitted to the athletic commission, they decided to have a meeting about the enabling of mixed martial arts. The petition contained more than 950 electronic signatures.

Executive director Gregory Sirb confirmed the news to MMAWeekly about the athletic commission approving what they called “MMA-style events”. With Pennsylvania approving MMA, they will likely follow the unified rules in use by most athletic commissions in the United States.

Philadelphia is likely to be the largest target market in Pennsylvania for MMA due to its size, as is Pittsburgh.

With the UFC expanding to new markets, this could open up another venue for them to look at for a future event. The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia would likely be the first place that most promoters would target since it holds more than 12,000 people.