Published: October 30, 2008 01:31 pm      

Board votes down fieldhouse fights in Jeffersonville

Mixed martial arts promoter had wanted to use Nachand as venue for upcoming bouts

Nachand Fieldhouse will not be used as a venue for mixed martial arts fighting, following a vote by the Jeffersonville Board of Public Works and Safety on Wednesday morning.

Last week, Kentucky-based promoter Xplosive Caged Combat asked the board to consider letting it use the fieldhouse as a venue for the fights.

Mixed martial arts fighting has become popular in recent years, with the rise of Ultimate Fighting Championship, a cable television program that features the fights.

Mayor Tom Galligan, a board member, remarked that he didn’t want the city involved in such events, where people could get hurt.

“I think we should just stay as far away from this as we can,” he said. “I don’t want Jeff known as the mixed martial arts capital of the world.”

The city had received a number of calls from people who didn’t want the fieldhouse used for fights, City Parks Superintendent Bob Manor noted.

Upon hearing that, the board voted unanimously to deny the request.

Board Attorney Darrin Wilder said the fights are legal in Indiana. There’s a state statute that criminalizes combative fighting, but there is an exception for mixed martial arts, he said.

However, he noted that the state’s boxing commission does not regulate the fights.

Travis Bunch, a representative from Xplosive, told the board last week that Kentucky does regulate the fighting and they would have used those rules.



In other business

• The board approved the closure of Watt Street between Seventh Street and Court Avenue from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 8 for a car show.

The show will benefit the Clark County’s “Shop With a Cop” program.