The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has been around since the year 1985 but was recognized on November 3rd 1993 when the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event launched. MMA was perceived as a very dangerous and barbaric sport at that time because the UFC made it seem like it was unsanctioned, "No Holds Barred" fighting. Since then, rules have been added to the sport and it is now accepted worldwide as a professional, competitive sport.

I am a 15 year old Mixed Martial Artist who lives in St. John's, Newfoundland with dreams and aspirations to become a UFC fighter. This goal is already challenging to achieve but it is even harder to achieve because MMA competition is illegal in Newfoundland. Because I live in Newfoundland, I have to fly away to compete and that makes it much more difficult to find competition. When a MMA fighter lives in a place where MMA competition is legal, they could participate in 10-20 competitions in one year. Because I live in Newfoundland, I would be lucky to compete once a year due to where I reside, limiting my growth as an athlete.

Some facts about MMA: iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-sports-injuries states that martial arts are 19th in quantity of yearly injuries. Basketball is number 3 and is legal in Newfoundland. Other sports such as football, skating, soccer, hockey, volleyball result in more yearly injuries than martial arts and are legal in Newfoundland. Why is MMA illegal when it is proven to be safer than many other legal sports? There are lots of great training centers in Newfoundland dedicated to Martial Arts and the only thing we really need to have legal MMA competition is a sanctioning source, which is easy to find. 

Please sign this petition to help legalize MMA in Newfoundland and help me and young people like me move one step closer to achieving our goals and dreams.