Browse Arkansas Code titles and sections
17-22-208. Combative sports elimination contests.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
17-22-208. Combative sports elimination contests.
(a) Except as provided under § 17-22-204, this chapter applies to combative sports elimination contests in which:
(1) The contestants compete for prizes only in combative sports elimination contests and are not:
(A) Professional boxers licensed through the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, 15 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq., competing in four (4) or more rounds of non-elimination boxing; or
(B) Professional mixed martial arts or any other professional form of combative sports discipline combatants;
(2) Each bout is scheduled to consist of three (3) or fewer one-minute rounds with combative sports elimination contests conducted on no more than two (2) consecutive calendar days;
(3) Contestants are prohibited from competing for more than twelve (12) minutes on each combative sports elimination contest day and are prohibited from being scheduled for more than twelve (12) minutes over the two-day period;
(4) The contestants participating in the combative sports elimination contest are to be insured by the promoter for not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for medical and hospital expenses to be paid to the contestants to cover injuries sustained in the combative sports elimination contest and for not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to be paid in accordance with the statutes of descent and distribution of personal property if a contestant dies as a result of injuries sustained in the combative sports elimination contest;
(5) A licensed physician is in attendance at ringside, and the physician has authority to stop the combative sports elimination contest for medical reasons;
(6) All contestants pass a physical examination using the State Athletic Commission's form given by a licensed physician be
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 17-22-208
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
Issuing source page ↗
Authority boundary: historical statutory source snapshot not current law.
Open the recorded source website ↗
Record provenance
Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:17-22-208
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.17.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: 748f92b9d0c5f389a2f28ab8acb19c3ae6258b0f1ad9b4197da7d041461b0f35
Source location: content.xml paragraph 5572
Stored source content
17-22-208. Combative sports elimination contests.
(a) Except as provided under § 17-22-204, this chapter applies to combative sports elimination contests in which:
(1) The contestants compete for prizes only in combative sports elimination contests and are not:
(A) Professional boxers licensed through the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, 15 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq., competing in four (4) or more rounds of non-elimination boxing; or
(B) Professional mixed martial arts or any other professional form of combative sports discipline combatants;
(2) Each bout is scheduled to consist of three (3) or fewer one-minute rounds with combative sports elimination contests conducted on no more than two (2) consecutive calendar days;
(3) Contestants are prohibited from competing for more than twelve (12) minutes on each combative sports elimination contest day and are prohibited from being scheduled for more than twelve (12) minutes over the two-day period;
(4) The contestants participating in the combative sports elimination contest are to be insured by the promoter for not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for medical and hospital expenses to be paid to the contestants to cover injuries sustained in the combative sports elimination contest and for not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to be paid in accordance with the statutes of descent and distribution of personal property if a contestant dies as a result of injuries sustained in the combative sports elimination contest;
(5) A licensed physician is in attendance at ringside, and the physician has authority to stop the combative sports elimination contest for medical reasons;
(6) All contestants pass a physical examination using the State Athletic Commission's form given by a licensed physician before the combative sports elimination contest;
(7) A preliminary breath test is administered to each contestant that indicates a blood alcohol content of two-tenths of one percent (0.2%) or less; and
(8) The promoter conducts the combative sports elimination contest in compliance with the following:
(A) A contestant who has lost by a technical knockout is not permitted to compete again for a period of thirty (30) calendar days or until the contestant has submitted to the promoter the results of a physical examination equivalent to that required of professional boxers or professional mixed martial arts combatants;
(B)(i) The ringside physician examines a contestant who has been knocked out in a combative sports elimination contest or whose fight has been stopped by the referee because the contestant received hard blows to the head that made the contestant defenseless or incapable of continuing immediately after the knockout or stoppage.
(ii) The ringside physician may recommend post-fight neurological examinations, which may include computerized axial tomography scans or magnetic resonance imaging, to be performed on the contestant immediately after the contestant leaves the location of the combative sports elimination contest.
(iii) The promoter shall not permit the contestant to compete until a physician has certified that the contestant is fit to compete.
(iv) If the physician recommends further neurological examinations, the promoter shall not permit the contestant to compete until the promoter receives copies of examination reports demonstrating that the contestant is fit to compete;
(C)(i) The promoter shall require that a contestant who has sustained a severe injury or knockout in a combative sports elimination contest be examined by a physician.
(ii) The promoter shall not permit the contestant to compete until the physician has certified that the contestant has fully recovered;
(D) The promoter shall not permit a contestant to compete in a combative sports elimination contest for a period of not less than sixty (60) days if the contestant has been knocked out or has received excessive hard blows to the head that required the fight to be stopped;
(E) A contestant who has been knocked out twice in a period of three (3) months or who has had excessive head blows causing a fight to be stopped shall not be permitted by a promoter to participate in a combative sports elimination contest for a period of not less than one hundred twenty (120) days after the second knockout or stoppage;
(F) A contestant who has been knocked out or had excessive hard blows to the head causing a fight to be stopped three (3) times consecutively in a period of twelve (12) months shall not be permitted by a promoter to participate in a combative sports elimination contest for a period of one (1) year after the third knockout; and
(G) Before resuming competition after any of the periods of rest prescribed in subdivisions (a)(8)(D)-(F) of this section, a promoter shall require the contestant to produce a certification by a physician stating that the contestant is fit to take part in a combative sports elimination contest.
(b) As part of the physical examination given before the combative sports elimination contest, the licensed physician or other trained person shall administer a preliminary breath test in compliance with standards imposed in rules promulgated by the Department of Arkansas State Police regarding equipment calibration and methods of administration.
(c)(1) The promoter shall keep a log of preliminary breath test results of contestants on file at its place of business for at least three (3) years after the date of administration of the test.
(2) These results shall be made available to law enforcement officials upon request.
(d) A combative sports elimination contest held under subsection (a) of this section is not considered to be in violation of the law.
(e) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
Cross-references
Connections may be documented source relationships, shared citations or nearby passages. Each explains its basis; a connection alone does not establish applicability to your situation.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
For purposes of this chapter:
(1) **Boxer** — The term “boxer” means an individual who fights in a professional boxing match.
(2) **Boxing commission**
(A) 11 So in original. No subpar. (B) has been enacted. The term “boxing commission” means an entity authorized under State law to regulate professional boxing matches.
(3) **Boxer registry** — The term “boxer registry” means any entity certified by the Association of Boxing Commissions for the purposes of maintaining records and identification of boxers.
(4) **Licensee** — The term “licensee” means an individual who serves as a trainer, second, or cut man for a boxer.
(5) **Manager** — The term “manager” means a person who receives compensation for service as an agent or representative of a boxer.
(6) **Matchmaker** — The term “matchmaker” means a person that proposes, selects, and arranges the boxers to participate in a professional boxing match.
(7) **Physician** — The term “physician” means a doctor of medicine legally authorized to practice medicine by the State in which the physician performs such function or action.
(8) **Professional boxing match** — The term “professional boxing match” means a boxing contest held in the United States between individuals for financial compensation. Such term does not include a boxing contest that is regulated by an amateur sports organization.
(9) **Promoter** — The term “promoter” means the person primarily responsible for organizing, promoting, and producing a professional boxing match. The term “promoter” does not include a hotel, casino, resort, or other commercial establishment hosting or sponsoring a professional boxing match unless—
(A) the hotel, casino, resort, or other commercial establishment is primarily responsible for organizing, promoting, and produc
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 15 U.S.C. § 6301
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. The source passage cites 15 U.S.C. § 6301. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 2231
TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE
§ 6301
under section 6207(a)(1) of this title
(other than the determination regarding
the assurance described in subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph), with respect to
each additional governmental entity, if
any, to be provided such antitrust evi-
dence in the course of such disclosure or
use, after having received adequate writ-
ten assurances applicable to each such
governmental entity.
(F) An assurance that antitrust evidence
received under section 6201, 6202, or 6203 of
this title from the Attorney General or the
Commission, and all copies of such evidence,
in the possession or control of the foreign
antitrust authority will be returned to the
Attorney General or the Commission, re-
spectively, at the conclusion of the foreign
investigation or proceeding with respect to
which such evidence was so received.
(G) Terms and conditions that specifically
provide that such agreement or such memo-
randum will be terminated if—
(i) the confidentiality required under
such agreement or such memorandum is
violated with respect to antitrust evi-
dence, and
(ii) adequate action is not taken both to
minimize any harm resulting from the vio-
lation and to ensure that the confiden-
tiality required under such agreement or
such memorandum is not violated again.
(H) Terms and conditions that specifically
provide that if the confidentiality required
under such agreement or such memorandum
is violated with respect to antitrust evi-
dence, notice of the violation will be given—
(i) by the foreign antitrust authority
promptly to the Attorney General or the
Commission with respect to antitrust evi-
dence provided by the Attorney General or
the Commission, respectively, and
(ii) by the Attorney General or the Com-
mission to t
Source: Supplied 2024 U.S. Code historical extraction · 15 U.S.C. § 6301
Stored review status: historical_2024_not_currentness_verified. The source passage cites 15 U.S.C. § 6301. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
17-22-204. Authority.
(a)(1)(A) The State Athletic Commission shall have the sole discretion, management, control, and jurisdiction over all combative sports matches and exhibitions in this state.
(B)(i) The commission shall adopt uniform policies, fees, and forms to ensure fair regulation of the combative sports industry.
(ii) The commission shall have no authority over professional wrestling events.
(2) A combative sports match or exhibition declared to be amateur and self-regulated shall be governed by the commission unless sanctioned by:
(A) A federally recognized sanctioning body approved in writing by the commission; and
(B) A national oversight body with 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 operating in at least six (6) states approved in writing by the commission.
(b)(1) The commission shall have the authority to appoint and pay inspectors and other officials necessary to properly conduct any match or exhibition authorized by this chapter.
(2) The inspectors and other officials may receive reimbursement for travel under § 25-16-901 et seq.
(c) The commission shall have the authority to adopt and promulgate, amend, or abrogate any and all rules considered by it necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions as provided in this chapter and in accordance with the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.
(d) The commission may issue subpoenas, examine witnesses, and administer oaths and shall, at its discretion, investigate allegations or practices violating the provisions of this chapter.
(e) The commission shall have the authority to hire an investigator for the purposes outlined in this section.
(f) The commission shall have the authority to require event permits and insurance
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 17-22-204
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 17-22-204. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.