Anyone licking their chops at the possibility of a UFC or other form of mixed martial arts event coming to Saskatchewan after Wednesday's House of Commons ruling will likely be disappointed.
On Wednesday, MPs voted to pass a bill legalizing contact sports. This includes mixed martial arts, along with others, like taekwondo and karate.
Prior to the ruling, the sports weren't covered under prize-fighting law, which exempted only boxing. The law hadn't been changed since 1934.
In the vote, 267 members were in favour of the change and only nine were opposed.
Darin Banadyga, executive director of Sport, Recreation and Stewardship in Saskatchewan, said the bill clarifies the province's requirements in order to host such an event.
Saskatchewan would still need to create a sanctioning commission and proper legislation, and while it could happen, it's not top priority.
"Now that the code has changed we're certainly taking a look at that and taking a look at the impact of that change on both amateur mixed martial arts in the province and what that means for professional mixed martial arts in the province," said Banadyga.
Mixed Martial Arts has already been sanctioned provincially in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. It has been sanctioned at municipal levels in Alberta, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories.
Not only was the sanctioning in place, but UFC events have already been held in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, with an event scheduled for June 15 in Manitoba.
So, if other provinces are any indication, had there been great interest to bring the fastest growing sport globally to Saskatchewan it could have been done.
All this means for the remaining provinces is the legalities are more clearly defined from the federal level. It's now in the hands of the provincial government to make further changes.
