§ 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).

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2017, No. 860,§ 2, eff. 8/1/2017. Amended by Act 2013, No. 1096,§ 6, eff. 8/16/2013. Acts 2001, No. 631, § 1; 2009, No. 781, § 6.