Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission
OVERVIEW 63N-10 The Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission (PSUAC) was established when the Utah Professional Athletic Commission Act became law in July 2001. The five-member Commission, appointed by the Governor and Legislature, regulates professional boxing and other amateur and professional unarmed combat sports including boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts (MMA). Promoters, managers, contestants, seconds, referees and judges are licensed under the Act and subsequent statute revisions and rules. Fees are intended to help mitigate the cost of protecting the health and welfare of contestants and regulating events within the state.
Governor’s Office of Economic Development • 2015 Annual Report • www.business.utah.gov
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The commission is named after the late Utah State Senator Eliud “Pete” Suazo. Pete Suazo was an advocate for youth and minorities in the state and a boxing enthusiast. More information about Senator Suazo’s life can be found in the article “La Voz de los Otros”: An Overview of the Life and Career of Eliud “Pete” Suazo, Utah’s First Hispanic State Senator, 1951-2001, written by Jorge Iber and published in the Spring 2008 Utah Historical Quarterly. The PSUAC regulates and oversees about 50 unarmed combat events per year. Attendance at these events varies from about 200 spectators to over 2,000 spectators attending large events. The vast majority of unarmed combat events held in Utah are MMA. There are nearly a dozen Utah resident MMA athletes now successfully competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Ultimate Fighter and other nationally acclaimed promotions. In May 2015, Utah received national media coverage for the Charity Vision Fight Night “Evander Holyfield vs. Mitt Romney” black tie fundraiser in Salt Lake City, which raised over $1 million to restore sight to individuals throughout the world.
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