The legality and regulation of professional mixed martial arts in South Africa

Abstract

Senator John McCain was not far off the mark when he described mixed martial arts (MMA) as “human cock-fighting”, during its formative years in the United States of America (US) in the early 1990’s. Those early MMA contests were no-holds-barred brutal affairs, fought between bloodied combatants of all shapes, sizes and combat styles, in a metal cage, spurred on to heightened levels of violence by a blood-thirsty crowd. Like bare-knuckle prize-fighting during the 18th and 19th centuries, this new form of combat sport closely resembled a glorified street-fight, which left the combatants battered and bruised, often with serious bodily injuries. The sheer brutality of these spectacles ultimately led to the banning of MMA across the US. Realising that MMA’s future depended on governmental sanction and regulation, its organisers embarked on a new strategy that sought out governmental sanction and regulation. Although MMA is now legal in all US states and currently thrives as a well-regulated mainstream sport in the US, its regulation in both the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa has lagged behind, raising uncertainty about its legality in these two jurisdictions. This uncertainty has been aggravated by the absence of legislative intervention and judicial scrutiny in respect of MMA generally, both in the UK and South Africa. Further, there is a dearth of academic literature to address this current legal lacuna. This study endeavours to bridge that legal lacuna by examining the legality of MMA in South Africa. In so doing, guidance is sought from the historical legal journey that MMA has taken in the US and also from the manner in which the English courts have approached boxing and other activities that entail consensual harm, such as sado-masochism. The pursuit of an answer to the aforesaid enquiry requires one to traverse a wide range of different, but related legal principles and concepts, both in South African law and (by comparison) the laws of the comparative jurisdictions, namely the UK, New York (NYS) and Nevada; making the legal journey of discovery both challenging and rewarding. In addition, the study also examines how best to regulate MMA in South Africa having regard to the outcome of the earlier enquiry regarding its legality in South Africa, and by taking guidance from the tried and tested regulatory models used to regulate MMA in NYS and Nevada, two of the epicentres of modern-day MMA.