Efforts to get mixed martial arts sanctioned in Maryland appear on track after a senate committee showed no signs of opposition yesterday to a bill that would give the state athletic commission regulatory power over the sport.

The committee on education, health and environmental affairs likely will decide by Friday whether to forward the bill to a vote by the entire state senate, said sponsor Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore Democrat.

But no one spoke against the legislation at yesterday's hearing in Annapolis. Senators posed only a few questions about safety regulations.

Conway said Maryland is losing out because the sport is sanctioned in Washington and in such nearby states as Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey.

"We're sitting in the middle of our region, where all of our dollars are going elsewhere," she said.

She echoed John Rallo, a former fighter who co-owns the Ground Control gym in Canton and has spurred the sanctioning effort. Rallo said he is tired of seeing his fighters travel out of state to practice what they learn from him.

He said the sanctioning would produce licensing revenues for Maryland and lead to the growth of small businesses associated with mixed martial arts.

The sport, best known through the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion, combines boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling and submission grappling. Fights are generally contested in a cage and can be won by knockout, referee's stoppage, judge's decision or opponent's submission.

UFC ran its first fight cards in the 1990s, but the sport was then nearly run out of the country by legislators and activists who considered it barbaric. It experienced a renaissance, however, after promoters began to embrace boxing-style regulation by state athletic commissions.

Mixed martial arts is sanctioned in 32 of 50 states, and UFC pay-per-view shows draw hundreds of thousands of buys at $40 a pop.

If it receives committee approval, the Maryland senate bill, or its cousin, sponsored by Del. Kirill Reznick, will still have to be passed by the entire legislature and signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

If the effort makes it that far, the state athletic commission would then have to draft rules for supervision of the sport. That process, which would include the training of doctors, referees and other fight officials, could take until late this year or early next year.

Yesterday's hearing offered the first public opportunity for supporters and opponents to comment on the legislation.

Patrick Pannella, executive director of the state athletic commission, said he welcomes the chance to oversee mixed martial arts. Michael Kelly, a ringside doctor from New Jersey, and Michael Mersch, an attorney for the UFC, testified to the effectiveness of regulations in other states.

The bill also drew support from Dr. Frank M. Reid III, the influential pastor of Baltimore's Bethel AME Church.

"It makes great business sense," said Reid, who watches the sport with his son and trains under Rallo. "MMA is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and Maryland should not be left behind."

childs.walker@baltsun.com