UFC hires lobbying firm
By Jim Murphy May 27th, 2008Not used to seeing MMA news in the Washington DC insider newspaper The Hill, but today they’re reporting on the UFC hiring a big deal lobbying firm:
Brownstein lobbyists don’t face any big fights on Capitol Hill. They say their mission is to let lawmakers know how far the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), which combines karate, jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and other forms of martial arts, has come.
“The sport that McCain objected to many years ago is really a sport that doesn’t exist anymore,� said Lawrence Epstein, general counsel for the UFC. In the mid-’90s, mixed martial arts were marketed as a sport with no rules. There were no time limits, rounds, weight divisions or judges.
But Zuffa now says it has turned MMA into a highly regulated sport that emphasizes the safety of fighters. Zuffa purchased the UFC in 2001.
The UFC is now sanctioned in 32 states and grossed $190 million last year. It took in more pay-per-view receipts than boxing.
“UFC is at the point where they are one of the fastest-growing sports leagues, and we want to make sure members of Congress are aware of the changes MMA has undergone,� said Makan Delrahim, a former top Justice Department official who is now a lobbyist at Brownstein Hyatt.
