The Wisconsin legislature may tackle regulations for kickboxing. The state has long regulated boxing, and in more recent years, mixed martial arts. But state Senator Dave Hansen said there’s been a problem. “We established rules and regulations for MMA, and it does not apply to kickboxing, so a number of promoters moved into kickboxing where they could hold events at much less cost,” said the Green Bay Democrat.
Hansen credits the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with bringing attention the issue. One kickboxer has died, and a cognitively disabled man was coaxed into fighting. “Originally we thought we could just simply roll it into the MMA law, but now we’ve been told the sport would require its own set of rules,” said Hansen, who notes that Republican state Representative Joel Kleefisch has also voiced support for legislation. Hansen is optmistic that a bill will be drafted in the upcoming legislative session.