New legislation could see Winnipeg become combat sport hub

The Manitoba government has landed a knock-out punch when it comes to Bill 40, the Combat Sports Amendment Act. 

That’s after the new legislation, giving the Manitoba Combative Sports Commission (MCSC) more oversight power, is being lauded by fighters, coaches and others who live by the ringside. 

“I could see Winnipeg, specifically Winnipeg, becoming the hub of combat sports,” said Giuseppe DeNatale, owner of the Canadian Fighting Centre.

As a result of the legislation, all pro and amateur events in Mixed Martial Arts, kick-boxing, Muay-Thai and Jiu-Jitsu, will now fall under the watchful eye of the MCSC, resulting in safer conditions for competitions across the province. 

Manitoba is now the fifth province to regulate amateur combat sports. But it was a long journey to get to this point; the movement started with a petition in 2018 that resulted in Bill 40, with the legislation officially coming into full force on Dec. 1. 

“We’re wanting to ensure we make it accessible for folks and keep them safe,” said Nellie Kennedy, Manitoba’s Minister of Sport, Culture, Heritage and Tourism.

DeNatale helped launch the petition back in 2018, and he’s praising the new regulations as a model for other provinces, highlighting the challenges fighters in Manitoba faced before this act was passed.

“Prior to this it was very difficult to have fighters compete because there were no events,” he said in an interview with CityNews. 

“There’s lots of fighters here in Manitoba who want to compete, and they don’t want to go out of province. They don’t want to deal with biased judges, they don’t want to deal with driving for 14 hours to compete.” 

DeNatale acknowledges while the petition played a significant role in driving the progress forward, he says some credit must go to former Sports Minister Obby Khan, who offered his unwavering support and advocacy for the sports along the way. 

Now, with the new regulations in place, he says they will benefit more than just fighters, as he believes it will create bigger event opportunities and attract outside competitors to rings in Manitoba.

“We can bring them here to Manitoba,” he said. “They don’t have opportunities to fight in Saskatchewan, they don’t have opportunities to fight MMA at the amateur level in Ontario and Quebec,” he said.