Colorado Renamed Its Boxing Law the “Combative Sports Safety Act” and Will Decide by Rule Which Sports It Covers
Colorado has renewed its combat-sports regulator for another eleven years and widened its frame. House Bill 26-1194, signed June 3, 2026, and in effect since August 12, continues the state’s combative sports office and commission until 2037 and renames the Colorado Professional Boxing Safety Act the Colorado Combative Sports Safety Act. The change that matters most to gym owners is procedural: the commission must now decide, by rule and on the basis of safety data, which combative sports the act covers. For MMA, kickboxing, Muay Thai and grappling gyms that run or supply fighters to local events, that rulemaking is the thing to watch.
What did HB26-1194 change?
- Continuation: the combative sports office and commission continue until 2037.
- Name: the act becomes the Colorado Combative Sports Safety Act.
- Scope by rule: after considering safety data collected by the office’s director, the commission must identify by rule which combative sports the act applies to.
- Physicians vote: the commission’s two physician members, who must have experience or training in emergency, sports or combative sports medicine, become voting members.
- Conflicts of interest: a promoter or matchmaker may not have a financial interest in managing a fighter, and a manager may not have a financial interest in promoting a fighter, work for a promoter or matchmaker, or be paid by one beyond the manager’s contract with the fighter.
- Discipline: licensees who fail to answer a complaint letter on time can be disciplined, and letters of admonition no longer need to go by certified mail.
The bill was sponsored by Reps. English and Barron and Sen. Hinrichsen and appears in the 2026 Session Laws as chapter 357.
Does it reach gym-run or amateur events?
The official summaries do not say, and we have not been able to confirm from the signed text whether the act’s new definitions or the commission’s rulemaking will extend to amateur bouts, interclub “smokers,” grappling tournaments or other events gyms commonly host. The answer will come from the rules the commission adopts. A gym that hosts or promotes events, or whose coaches also manage fighters, should assume the commission is looking at its activity and take part in the rulemaking when it opens.
The manager-promoter separation already matters to many MMA gyms, where one person often coaches a fighter, negotiates their bouts and helps run local cards. Under the new law, those roles need to be separated on paper and in practice for licensed events.
What a Colorado gym owner should do
- Sign up for notices from the Colorado Office of Combative Sports so you see proposed rules and hearing dates.
- Inventory your events. List every bout, smoker or tournament you host or co-promote, and who is paid for what.
- Separate management and promotion. If you or a coach manages fighters, make sure no one in that role has a financial interest in promoting their bouts.
- Check your insurance for event coverage before the rules arrive.
Related: A Robot Cage Fight Drew California’s Athletic Commission. Your School’s Fight Night Could Too, and the MMA and combat sports regulation guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Colorado Combative Sports Safety Act?
The new name, under HB26-1194, for the Colorado Professional Boxing Safety Act. The law took effect August 12, 2026.
How long is the Colorado commission continued?
Until 2037.
Which sports does the act cover?
The commission must decide by rule, based on safety data. Those rules had not been published when this article was written.
Can a gym coach manage and promote the same fighter?
Not under the new conflict-of-interest provisions, which bar a manager from having a financial interest in promoting their fighter and a promoter from having a financial interest in managing one.
Sources, and what we could not confirm
Colorado General Assembly, HB26-1194 bill page and the 2026 Digest of Bills; Westword reporting on the commission’s composition. We could not read the full signed text and therefore make no claim about amateur, interclub or grappling events. We will update this article when the commission publishes proposed rules.
