*originally published in the Aug '05 issue of Full Contact Fighter*
Slowly but surely, Pennsylvania is starting to come around. No, there isn’t a UFC scheduled for the Keystone State. No, King of the Cage or the IFC isn’t setting up shop. But the Commonwealth’s State Athletic Commission has stuck its toe in the water to gauge the temperature, and thanks to the efforts of a knowledgeable mixed martial arts coach and part-time promoter, a big plunge might be next. For MMA in Pennsylania, it looks like things are happening sooner rather than later.
The Muay Thai kickboxing trainer for the venerable Fight Factory team in Philadelphia, Angel Cartagena has become the MMA community’s point-man on his state’s journey towards official sanctioning. As owner of the BodyArts Gym – the home of the Fight Factory – he’s been in the trenches sweating it out with the likes of local warriors Steve Haigh and Eddie Alvarez, so when Pennsylvania decided it wanted try mixed martial arts on for size, he got the call. “A few years ago I approached the Athletic Commission about mixed martial arts,” says Cartagena. “ They told me it was illegal. Then two years ago the State Athletic Commission pursued me and asked me to help them put on an event - a mixed fighting event.”
He goes on to describe what Pennsylvania meant by ‘mixed fighting’: striking and throws on the feet, with no groundfighting allowed whatsoever (similar to a san shou competition, i.e., Cung Le’s style of combat). “They threw their first mixed fighting event, which was really a san shou event. They did that about a year and a half ago and I acted as the fight coordinator for that event. Then just a few months ago they gave me [permission] to do an MMA-style event for amateurs. But then the night of the fight they actually changed the rules on me. They let me throw one modified mixed martial arts fight (striking on the feet, grappling-only on the ground), and then they made me go back to the old rules of mixed fighting on all the other fights.” Adds Cartagena: “It was a test run.”
There have been a total of three events thus far, the third (featuring the amateur MMA bout) dubbed ‘Evolved Fighting’. What caused the State Athletic Commission to lose its nerve at Evolved Fighting? “I really can’t tell you why except that it’s a bunch of gun-shy people. At this event, unlike any other event you would go to, everyone there was representing the State Athletic Commission. From the director to the actual commissioner to the assistant commissioners, even the state doctors are there - it’s all kinds of people. So it’s one guy or the other, it could be the director or the doctor - they just call it. They just get a little gun-shy about the grappling. I don’t know exactly what it is… A lot of things could cause one of them to squeeze the trigger and say, ‘hey, we’re a little concerned about this. Let’s stop it and go to the old rules.”
Still, Cartagena is optimistic about how the Commission felt about what it saw. “Do I think it helped support MMA in the state of Pennsylvania? Yeah, I think it did a lot for it.” Is this optimism unfounded? “I know the director of the State Athletic Commission is moving forward with a legal body and a legal set of rules that is going to support MMA in the state of Pennsylvania,” he says. “The state is reviewing everything that happened at the last three events, with the mixed fighting and modified MMA, and they are trying to move forward with it.” Cartagena goes on to predict mid-2006 as when the sport will ultimately be sanctioned.
But the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania isn’t quite there yet; there’s still a bit of work that needs to be done. Says Cartagena: “I don’t have any real weight to push around. I’m not politically connected. I just go there and educate them. I try to expose [the Commission] to the right mixed martial artists, the right community. The only thing I’m thankful for is they kind of trust me enough to do the mixed fights. But they don’t give me carte blanche. I’m in charge but I’m not in charge. There are no rules in the state of Pennsylvania that support MMA.”
What, if any, obstacles are standing in the way? “I think it’s the MMA community not supporting it,” he says. “It’s on the table, there’s an awareness of it, it’s trying to be brought to the forefront, but [the biggest obstacle] is just getting the right group to support it and help push it forward.” He references the legislative process, and the steps that must be taken for a state to enact a law, then adds: “I would consider myself right now to be the biggest player in the MMA community to be involved with the State Athletic Commission. But to be honest with you, regarding the MMA community and what I bring to it, that’s really not enough. I know there are more qualified people out there than me that can help. The only thing I can bring to it is a level of professionalism and effort.”
So what does the man who’s done his best to educate the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania suggest? Naturally, a call to arms. “People should contact their local councilmen and get them to support it,” says Cartagena – and he stresses this point repeatedly. According to him, the time is now for MMA fans to act.
In September, Evolved Fighting is scheduled to return with a Muay Thai-only event, and Cartagena has his sights set on making his October show a mixed fighting affair. As for mixed martial arts, well, if his assessment is correct, fans and fighters alike in the Keystone State have only a little less than a year to go for the door to be open for a wide range of fighting promotions. The future certainly looks bright.
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