The state vs. MMA.

• Position: List - Mixed martial arts - Brief article

Contributing Editor Kerry Howley is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her first book, Thrown (Sarabande), follows the lives of two professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters over the course of several years. Here Howley lists three ways that state authorities have tried, and failed, to shut down the sport:

1 By refusing permission: Throughout the '90s, shows were effectively banned when local athletic commissions refused to regulate them. Promoters jumped state to state to avoid being shut down. It was, according to Ultimate Fighting Championship co-creator Bob Meyrowitz, "like being in a traveling circus."

2 By switching off the TV: In 1997, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who apparently prefers his violence state-sponsored, used his...