By FCF Staff

Following the introduction of a bill to expand the Muhammad Ali Act into mixed-martial-arts, the UFC has reportedly hired a Washingon, D.C., based lobbying firm to fight the bill’s progress.

Recently Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, introduced a bill which if passed, would bring MMA into the Muhammad Ali Act. The legislation currently only applies to boxing, and includes provisions whereby promoters must disclose all of the revenue they stand to make for a fight. Currently the UFC does not publicly disclose pay-per-view revenue.

In addition, the Act limits contractual provisions to one year, prevents managers from being promoters, and also calls for third party, sanctioning bodies that oversee rankings and championship fights.

According to a new report from O’Dwyers, the UFC has hired the lobbying firm Farragut Partners in an effort to prevent the expansion of the Muhammad Ali Act. The UFC’s COO Lawrence Epstein recently told ESPN.com that “we continue to believe the federal government would have no productive role in regulating MMA promotions or competitions. Already, states regulate each bout and MMA athletes are well compensated and treated fairly, which is one of the reasons the sport is the fastest growing in the world.”

In addition, Epstein argued that the UFC promotes “fair fights that fans want to see and we can’t understand why the federal government should decide which fights the fans get to see.”

Mullin’s bill has been co-sponsored by Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy.