Salem kills proposed ordinance to ban ultimate fighting

SALEM, Utah County — An attempt to ban extreme or ultimate fighting, including mixed martial arts, was KO'ed Wednesday by the City Council.

With just two votes in favor of a revised ordinance that would have outlawed caged fighting in a new gym under construction, and one opposed, one abstention and one absent, the council was paralyzed in taking any action despite overwhelming community support for the ordinance. It takes three affirmative votes to pass an ordinance.

Even an attempt to table the issue and bring it back with a full quorum failed. However, City Attorney Junior Baker said the council will likely put it back on the agenda in April when a full quorum is present.

Part-owner Yolanda Moser said the planned space for the sport — which is a small, upper level room — would have allowed for training only, not full-scale events.

"Big events wouldn't fit. It's too small," she said.

However, several months ago, former Mayor Lane Henderson asked Baker to draw up an ordinance regulating extreme fighting because he was told the facility would hold fighting events. The two-story, 20,000-square-foot building is on State Route 198 just south of 750 North.

"They did this without even asking us. We didn't know about the ordinance (until it came before the council)," Moser said.

But when Baker presented the ordinance on Feb. 3, officials were concerned it was too strict because it could be interpreted to banning the training of martial arts in general.

On Wednesday, Baker came back with a revised ordinance that allowed training but banned caged fighting. Councilmen Sidney Jorgenson and Sterling Rees voted in favor of the ban. Councilman Terry Ficklin voted against it, saying he favored the original, stricter ordinance. Councilman Todd Gordon did not vote.

"People say I'm involved with it, but I'm not, so I'll abstain," Gordon said.

Councilwoman Lynn Durrant was absent because of the death of her mother, Mayor Stanley Green said.

More residents spoke against allowing the sport than supported it, many referring to Salem's moniker, "a city of peace," as the reason they moved there. Green said he received 101 e-mails favoring a restrictive ordinance and four opposed to the city regulating it.

"There is enough violence around us," Ed Melzer said, urging the council to keep the sport out.

"I don't want the city to sanction it," Judith Baker said.