The Muhammad Ali Expansion Act in MMA: News, Interviews, and Analysis

Reporting on the Muhammad Ali Act and efforts to both implement and block this bill in the sport of MMA.

The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act was enacted into US law on May 26th, 2000 by the 106th Congress. One of the goals of the act was to protect boxers who - according to sponsors of the bill - had been exploited by promoters.

Among other things, the Muhammad Ali Act ensures that contracts between boxers and promoters specify a minimum number of bouts per year and that promotional rights to a boxer can only be held by a promoter for 12-months at a time. The act also empowers boxers with the ability to audit promoters to find out the exact revenue generated by their performances.

The full text of the original Ali Act is available here.

In 2016 Representative Markwayne Mullin [R OK-2], a former MMA fighter, introduced H.R. 5365 - Muhammad Ali Expansion Act; seeking to expand the Ali Act to the sport of mixed martial arts.

When the 114th US Congress ended at the end of 2016, Mullin’s bill had not been passed. Though it had gained 7 co-sponsors (5 Republicans and 2 Democrats) and been referred to the House Education and the Workforce and House Energy and Commerce committees.

Two days after the 115th US Congress opened for business on January 1st, 2017 Rep. Mullin re-introduced his bill - now titled H.R. 44. The bill currently has 53 co-sponsors (27 Republicans and 25 Democrats).

H.R. 44 was referred to the House Education and the Workforce and House Energy and Commerce committees on the day Mullin introduced it. On January 25th it was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

To become law, the bill needs to first pass a vote in the US House of Representatives, then another in the US Senate. The last hurdle is the US President, who can either sign the bill into law, take no action (in which the bill becomes law after 10 days) or veto the bill; sending it back to Congress.

In this story stream you will find Bloody Elbow’s reporting on all things Ali Act including analysis on what this law could mean for MMA and the UFC.