Mixed martial arts events need more regulation and should be placed under the state director of commerce and consumer affairs, a state audit recommends.

The audit was conducted in response to legislation introduced last year that would have licensed mixed martial arts as its own sport.

Patrick Freitas, promoter for Icon Sport, formerly known as the Superbrawl, said he was in favor of the auditor's recommendations. "In principle, Icon Sport always runs toward regulation, not away from it," he said.

The biggest concern with the recommendations is their costs, particularly in regard to testing blood for drugs, HIV and hepatitis, which can run about $250 a test.

"There's a lot of people that need to be tested," Freitas said. "That's going to take a ton of money."

For Icon Sport, a mid-size promoter, the cost could be upward of $300,000 a year.

Freitas said having to pay for testing could put smaller shows out of business.

Having the sport regulated under DCCA, which already sends inspectors to every show, would be preferable to creating a mixed martial arts commission or combining mixed martial arts and boxing under one athletic commission, Freitas said.

He said he just wants to be assured that the fees the agency collects would go back into mixed martial arts education and safety, rather than into the state's general fund.

Freitas also wondered why there is a push for more regulation in the first place, considering that the bouts that combine various fighting techniques have never resulted in a death. "I've not been shown in any form how the current structure has failed," he said. "We've never had any misery, never had a bad incident. Things have gone as smoothly as possible."

Chris Onzuka, who runs the O2 Martial Arts Academy, said that since DCCA began sending two inspectors to every match, promoters have been trying even harder to make sure the fighters are protected. "They're trying very hard to run a good show ... and taking extra steps to make sure that nothing goes wrong," he said.

Onzuka said he would rather see DCCA's role expanded than have a commission oversee the sport. The audit recommends the state agency provide direct regulation and that it could use an advisory committee to help develop unified rules.

According to the audit, the current enforcement system is leading to significant overtime costs because inspectors are having to work in the evenings and on weekends, when most of the shows are held.

Establishing rules would help the sport shed its stigma, Onzuka said. While often referred to as "no holds barred" or "extreme" fighting, mixed martial arts actually has a detailed set of rules that bars such techniques as attacking the spine and groin to hair pulling.

"It's a legitimate sport and there are a lot of safety factors the fighters need to undergo," Onzuka said.

The auditor recommends passing a bill currently in the Legislature and strengthening the regulations to include reporting of recent medical examinations, a formal registry of fighters, medical insurance for contestants, at least two physicians at ringside, HIV and hepatitis testing, improved sanitary conditions in the ring and a ban on the use of stimulants.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.