By: Summer Chu

10-year-old Isaiah Triana steps onto the floor of the arena, his brown hair gleaming with gel and his tensed body ready to fight. He has prepared himself for this tournament for months and is excited to finally be able to show off the effort he has put in to win. Isaiah walks around the edge of the ring, confidently waving his arms at the crowd gathered outside. There is a crowd of a few hundred, here to watch kids like him fight each other. The number of people who have started to gain interest in youth MMA has been growing and the National tournament in Temecula California was the largest in the US, with 182 kids competing, wanting to become the next UFC star.

Youth MMA has only recently started gaining popularity due to a longstanding fear of child brain injuries. Public acceptance for this particular sport has been slow but recently, more people have signed their kids up for tournaments and more and more people have come to watch especially since more safety protocols have been set in place. The trainers are careful to keep the fighters safe and as Isaiah’s coach has said “He’s like a unicorn,” his trainer, Douglas Vileforte, said as he began to wrap Isaiah’s hands. “We just have to make sure we don’t break him.”

Still, youth MMA is banned in most states with California being one of the only states to have regulated youth MMA. Only a few states allow youth MMA to be regulated, while others don’t sanction the sport at all. The USFL has held tournaments in Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Texas, but it has had events canceled in other states.

“This is different than contact sports. This is combat sports. Everything you’re doing is magnified, and that’s especially true for children,” said Nitin Sethi, the chief medical officer of the New York Athletic Commission, which does not allow MMA events for those under 18. “It’s very hard to make them completely safe.” He says.