By Katrina Belcher (katrinabelcher@mmaratings.net)
Starting January 1st, 2009, many states now require amateur or professional mixed martial arts fighters to obtain a valid Federal ID card in order to compete in MMA events.
During its recent Annual Convention, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), in its infinite wisdom and great desire to control mixed martial arts and make their cut of the MMA-pie, approved of the creation of a national database to track the identity and competition records of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Competitors. The database will serve the same purpose as the comparable system currently used for professional boxers. That database is managed by Fightfax.
Being that they kept the date for submitting proposals a big secret, and by not telling pretty much, well, anyone, the ABC reviewed just the 2-3 proposals submitted by companies interested in providing this service — who KNEW about it. It was “decided” that mixedmartialarts.com, the lucky dog, would be the official record keeper for the ABC Membership.
Mixedmartialarts.com will administrate the database and provide interested parties officially recognized fight records. State Athletic Commissions are in the process of submitting prior fight results for inclusion in the database. Some states have begun requiring that fighters be registered with the database prior to competition. The database will include both amateur and professional MMA Competitors.
As each State Athletic Commission is different, you should check with your state to see if they will require a Mixed Martial Arts Competitor Federal ID in order to compete.
You can get a copy of the Mixed Martial Arts Competitor Federal ID Application Form by clicking this link. MMA Federal ID Form
