Commercial Appeal -- Long Road to Legalized MMA

UFC 107 realization of Steve Zito's goal

MMA in Tennessee required huge efforts

    * By Scott Cacciola

Steve Zito knew it was a huge undertaking. The mere idea of helping to push a bill through the labyrinthine halls of the state legislature was, to his knowledge, unprecedented in his business. But as vice president of arena operations and entertainment for FedExForum, Zito knew it was his job to draw the best events to Memphis. He felt that mixed martial arts was a sport with enormous potential, and he wanted it at his facility.

The only problem? MMA was illegal in Tennessee.

And so Zito and his staffed embarked on a three-year mission -- a labor of love, really -- to make their dream of staging an Ultimate Fighting Championship event a reality. It took lobbyists, a tireless group of coworkers, countless hours of negotiations, reams of paperwork and more trips to Nashville than he cares to remember, but Zito will see his vision play out at FedExForum on Saturday night.

UFC 107, a 10-fight mega-event headlined by a lightweight title meeting between champion B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez, represents something significant to Zito, a man who prefers to work behind the scenes.

"To see this building filled with people, and for them to be walking out of here saying, 'Holy cow, I can't wait to come back,' that's what it's all about," Zito said. "So Saturday night, when that happens, talk about goose bumps? I will be so pumped, because my goal in this is not just for Saturday night. This is for the future. We want to bring it back."

The UFC is regarded as the top professional organization in MMA, a fast-growing sport that combines multiple fighting disciplines, including wrestling, boxing and martial arts. And it has become a lucrative business. More than 10,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday's event, generating more than $1.4 million in gate revenue. The UFC's last four pay-per-view shows have averaged an attendance of 15,163.

Tennessee, in particular, is known as an emerging hotbed for MMA, and the UFC has long wanted to tap the Memphis market. Part of that is due to the popularity of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, a native Memphian and one of the sport's biggest stars, though he has decided to take a hiatus from his MMA career to star in a film remake of "The A-Team." But the sport's popularity here goes beyond him.

"When I look at the ratings for our Spike TV show, 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and go by percentages, Tennessee is a very hot state," said Marc Ratner, the UFC's vice president of regulatory affairs. "And that's one of the reasons, when we look at deciding on a venue, Memphis is high on the list."

The UFC only stages about 10 pay-per-view events each year, and each tends to have a sizable economic impact. UFC 82, for example, generated an estimated $7million-$10 million for Columbus, Ohio -- a comparable market -- when the event was staged in March 2008, according to Ratner.

"It's a dream for us to come to FedExForum," Ratner said. "It's one of the best venues in the country."

The whole effort to push state lawmakers to legalize the sport was greenlit by Grizzlies owner Mike Heisley, who offered financial support. Zito then hired Melissa Bast as a lobbyist to work with Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, who co-sponsored the bill. Zito was motivated.

"It was frustrating sitting here knowing we were working so hard to bring these events here, and then seeing these same events being put on in neighboring states," Zito said. "It really kind of ticked me off."

He also got plenty of encouragement from Memphis' tight-knit martial arts community. One call to Jeff Mullen, a respected MMA official and coach who runs his own martial arts studio, and he was in Nashville testifying on the group's behalf. Another call to Don Crenshaw at USA Karate over in Bartlett, and he threw his full support behind the effort.

Zito said he remembers the milestone of getting approval from the Tennessee General Assembly's study committee to move forward with the bill in the late summer of 2007 -- and then getting a friendly call from Ratner, who advised Zito that a state athletic commission would need to be created to get the bill passed. And Zito realized, right then, that there were more political layers to this than he imagined.

"It was like, 'Wow, our job just got 10 times harder,'" Zito said. "But we also said to ourselves, 'Bring it on.'"

Zito and Bast also recognized that one of their biggest challenges was to educate lawmakers about MMA, which has become more mainstream -- and safer -- in recent years, even as it continues to shake the stigma of its no-holds-barred, backyard-brawling roots.

On May 13, 2008, the House passed the bill, 91-4. One week later, the bill passed in the Senate, 30-0.

"I think it's absolutely huge having this show," said Mullen, who now serves as executive director of the Tennessee Athletic Commission. "The UFC is the NFL of the sport, and there's a tremendous amount of interest in Tennessee."

Asked how many UFC events he would like to host each year, Zito said, deadpan: "All of them."

"In all seriousness, these events belong all over the place," he said. "But you know what? We would love one a year, because I think there's a need for it. People are looking for it. We will want the UFC to want to come back."

-- Scott Cacciola: 529-2773

UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez

What: An Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event that will feature 10 fights, headlined by a lightweight title match between champion B.J. Penn and challenger Diego Sanchez.

When: Saturday, 5:50 p.m.

Where: FedExForum

Tickets: Priced from $50-$350 and available through TicketMaster.com or at the FedExForum ticket office.