Mayhem may come to St. Charles venue

A debate long refuted in other parts of the U.S. raged anew Monday night in St. Charles as the city began its consideration of allowing mixed martial arts events in town.

A company called Mayhem Productions has organized a mixed martial arts event on March 28 at the DuPage Expo Center in St. Charles. Until recently, St. Charles officials would not have had much say over rejecting such an event in town. But in December, the city changed the liquor code to require approval by the city council whenever an athletic event will involve alcohol. Such is the case with the combative event planned for March 28.

The bulk of the questions asked by the city's Planning and Development Committee showed a general ignorance of what a mixed martial arts sporting event is. In general, the event pits two opponents trained in various martial arts disciplines against each other in a cage or ring. The bout ends when time expires, when one of the opponents submits to avoid injury or the referee or doctor calls a halt to the action. The sport is arguably the fastest growing athletic event in the U.S., bolstered by TV programing and pay-per-view events produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Once informed of the parameters of the competition, three members of the committee refused to give their permission. Aldermen William Turner, Jim Martin and Jo Krieger all voted against the competition. Martin revived a comparison made by U.S. Senator John McCain several years ago when he compared mixed martial arts to cockfighting.

"Cockfighting and dogfighting are considered a sport, too," Martin said. "I can't support it whatsoever."

Cockfighting is actually illegal throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, more states, including Illinois, are adopting procedures to oversee mixed martial arts events. Mayhem Productions recently hosted a mixed martial arts event in Rosemont with no major problems reported by police. That was enough to win the endorsement of St. Charles police for the March event. The committee ultimately passed along consideration of the event to the city council with a 5-3 vote and an experimental approval from Mayor Don DeWitte, who does not sit on the committee. Those voting in favor of the event said it will act as a test run for any future mixed martial arts events in town.

"I believe having one of these events in a venue like Pheasant Run on the edge of town may be appropriate," DeWitte said. "We will see how it goes."