Fighters (top) begin their bout during a Knockout Kings Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts tournament at the Eagles Club in July. Credit: Gary Porter

SHARE Shawn Devooght (above, left) takes on Jesse Fisher during the tournament. Gary Porter Fighter Matt Tipton of Dixon, Ill., takes the ring during a Knockout Kings Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts tournament at the Eagles Ballroom in July. Gary Porter Death in the Ring Dennis Munson Jr. died hours after his amateur debut as a kickboxer at Milwaukee's Eagles Club in March 2014. An investigation by the Journal Sentinel uncovered a series of errors by the officials responsible for safety during the unregulated fight – part of the fast-growing world of combat sports. Go to section

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Wisconsin lawmakers from both parties are moving to draft legislation to close a gap that allows unregulated kickboxing matches in the state, such as one where a fighter died and another in which a man with mental disabilities was knocked out.

But that gap is not the only place where Wisconsin's law on combat sports lags behind states that are recognized as having the strongest regulation in the nation, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review found.

States such as Ohio, New Jersey, California and Nevada require more in-depth physicals for fighters, tougher drug testing and more doctors to be at ringside, compared with Wisconsin.

Officials in several states have stepped up training and one issued new orders on officials' conduct following a Journal Sentinel investigation into the death of kickboxer Dennis Munson Jr., who collapsed after his amateur debut at Milwaukee's Eagles Club in March.

The investigation revealed fight officials failed to intervene despite what a dozen independent experts said was an obviously distressed fighter.

Munson's medical treatment after the fight was delayed by disagreements and confusion over care. He died at the hospital as a result of head trauma.

Wisconsin officials say they are powerless to investigate Munson's death because kickboxing is not regulated. The state does oversee boxing and mixed marital arts, an amalgamation of disciplines that includes kickboxing.

State regulators have not watched video of the Munson fight or made any changes because of the problems identified in the Journal Sentinel investigation, according to Hannah Zillmer, spokeswoman for the Department of Safety and Professional Services.

In contrast, officials in other states already are using the Munson video as a training tool, to help their officials spot trouble in a fighter.

In Ohio, officials have extended a ban on ringside cellphone usage by physicians, because of the Munson fight where the video shows the ringside doctor looking at his cellphone at key moments.

Bernie Profato, executive director of the Ohio Athletic Commission, said if he sees any ringside official looking at a phone when they should be watching the fight, "they will never work in Ohio again."

"They have a job to do that is not to talk on the phone and text on the phone or whatever," he said.

Profato said Ohio has made it clear that it will regulate all combat sports closely and is always looking for ways to improve that oversight. Like other top regulatory states, Ohio sanctions all combat sports including kickboxing.

"The word is out. You go to Ohio, you have to be ready to do the job, the fighter, the promoter, the corner person," said Profato, a former police officer and boxing referee. "The state is looking to put fighters in the safest possible environment."

UFC requires sanctioning

Wisconsin began regulating mixed martial arts in 2010, joining a parade of states sanctioning the burgeoning sport, made popular by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

UFC requires sanctioning before bringing one of its MMA shows to a state.

A committee advising Wisconsin lawmakers at the time included Jeffrey "Duke" Roufus, a former world champion kickboxer who became a top striking instructor and owner of Roufusport, a gym on Milwaukee's west side, where Munson trained.

Also on the advisory committee were several people close to Roufus, including referee Al Wichgers and ringside doctor Carlos Feliciano — both of whom worked the Munson fight on March 28.

Wisconsin sanctioned both amateur and professional MMA but not kickboxing. Roufus has said he favors regulating kickboxing.

Legislators who sponsored the 2009 bill said they don't recall regulation of kickboxing being raised. In fact, a couple of them thought kickboxing was included in the bill they authored.

On paper, Wisconsin's rules appear solid, according to experts who reviewed them.

They require fighters get physicals before competing, mandate training for fight officials and call for there to be a ringside doctor and an ambulance on hand for events.

But the physicals required by Wisconsin, for both amateurs and professionals, are limited.

They mandate blood tests for hepatitis B and C and HIV and an eye test. Fighters older than 35 must have tests on their head and those over 39 also need heart tests and more complete blood work.

In states with tougher regulation, tests on the head and heart are required, at a minimum, for all professionals, regardless of age.

In New Jersey, top amateurs receive the same tests as professionals.

"You catch people, you save lives or save careers with that," said Nick Lembo, counsel for the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

On the issue of ringside doctors, Wisconsin appeared to be among the leaders — but that changed in September.

The state was requiring two doctors to be ringside for fights. On Sept. 1, however, new administrative rules went into effect. Now only one ringside doctor is required.

Zillmer said Wisconsin's law has always only given duties for one ringside doctor. Because there are no duties for a second doctor, the rules were changed to require just one doctor.

Since the rule went in effect, there have been fights with two doctors ringside at state-sanctioned fights. But in those cases, the second doctor was brought in by the promoter, Zillmer said.

Other states with tougher regulation require at least two doctors to be ringside for almost all fights.

State lags in drug testing

Drug testing is another area where Wisconsin lags.

The law allows the state to give random drug tests. The state also can test a fighter suspected of using a banned substance or suspected of exceeding approved levels of a substance. The promoter must pay the cost of the drug tests.

The state has regulated more than 40 shows since 2010 but has only administered drug testing at two events, Zillmer said. A total of 15 fighters were tested.

"The department may conduct testing of any contestant for any event; however, we typically conduct testing at the request of the promoter, if the department has knowledge that a contestant is undergoing prescribed testosterone therapy, or if the department has knowledge that a contestant has recently failed drug tests in other states," she said.

Officials in other states said it is important that a state does its own testing, without influence by the promoter.

"You can't have that. It has to be random," Ohio's Profato said when asked about promoters deciding on whether to do drug tests. "The promoter, if he has big money riding on a fighter and knows he is on steroids, he is not going to be tested."

The only person found in violation of Wisconsin's drug testing was Ben Rothwell. He was approved to take testosterone, but a test showed he exceeded allowable levels at a UFC event in Milwaukee in 2013.

His punishment? A written warning from the State of Wisconsin.

But the promoter, UFC, took a tougher stand. It suspended Rothwell for nine months. The fact that a promoter took a harder stance than the State of Wisconsin made headlines in the MMA trade press.

Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, said it is important for a state to do random drug testing and take a tough stance for failing one. That state's maximum fine is $2,500, but Foster said he is pushing for the fine to be set at a percentage of the fight purse.

"If you make $100,000, a $2,500 fine isn't much discouragement," he said. "But if it is 50% of your purse, that would be a good discouragement against cheating."

Move to regulate sport

In Wisconsin, the move to regulate kickboxing is being led by state Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) and Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay).

Hansen said he is willing to look at improving the current MMA law, and he said there is a need to act soon, pointing to an unregulated kickboxing bout held in Nov. 1 at Milwaukee Harley-Davidson.

Jessie Roach, a man with mental disabilities and little fighting experience was knocked out by a seasoned fighter and trainer, the Journal Sentinel found.

"There is a sense of urgency," Hansen said. "Protecting the fighter, that is our top priority. There are people in the industry that agree with us, that something has to happen. This bill will take time. We want to get it right."

Officials from other states said Wisconsin may not need a new law, noting current law could be interpreted to mean that kickboxing is regulated, because it is a component of MMA.

To avoid any loopholes, the officials said the best approach is to include wording that says the state regulates, "all unarmed combat sports." Then if a new form of fighting surfaces, it is covered.

Hansen and Kleefisch said they are confident kickboxing will be regulated, because the issue is being addressed in a bipartisan way.

Kleefisch said he doesn't look at the move as creating more regulation but making clear that existing regulation extends to kickboxing.

"When it comes to life and death in sport, the care that should be taken to preserve human life and the standard should be the same across similar sports," Kleefisch said. "It is standardizing the safety precautions and reactions across potentially life-endangering sports."





Inquiries into fatal fight

■ City officials have asked Milwaukee police to investigate if the kickboxing event where Dennis Munson Jr. fought violated an ordinance that bans ultimate fighting unless it is regulated by the state.

■ A complaint was filed last week by county officials with the state against Curtis Ambulance related to the Eagles Club event because the company failed to file a special event plan, as required by state rules and its contract with the City of Milwaukee. The company has said it did nothing wrong.

■ Police detectives continue to investigate a 32-second gap at a key moment in one of the videos of the Munson fight, provided to police by the event promoter.