Letter cites unpermitted bout, unlicensed referee, missing state record, and a 112-pound weight mismatch; requests emergency suspension and referral to prosecutors
ORLANDO, Fla. — State Representative Dr. Anna V. Eskamani (D-Orlando) last night sent a letter to the Florida Athletic Commission requesting that it revoke the license of Duel Arena, the promoter of record for the professional combat sports program held at Orlando’s Kia Center on August 29; suspend or revoke the licenses of affiliated persons and entities; and decline to issue any further permit in Florida to the promotion, its principals, or a successor entity.
The letter documents multiple apparent violations of Chapter 548, Florida Statutes, the law governing professional boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts in Florida.
“I know that much of the public attention on this event has focused on what was displayed and said inside the arena: a Nazi flag unfurled in the seating bowl, Hitler salutes given by a competitor and audience members, and antisemitic remarks delivered on a live broadcast,” Eskamani wrote. “I vehemently oppose these images and this rhetoric; this letter focuses on examples of violations of Florida law that merit clear license suspension and revocation.”
Among the violations cited in the letter:
- A full-contact contest was held outside the permitted card. A costumed performer promoted as the character “FreakBob” exchanged strikes with an opponent identified as Daniel Cao, who was reported to be overwhelmed from the opening seconds and unprotected. Section 548.008(3)(b) makes holding, promoting, or sponsoring such a match a felony of the third degree.
- That contest was refereed by a non-sanctioned person. The individual in the referee’s position has been identified as an online streamer for whom reporting found no record of Florida licensure — while four licensed referees assigned by the state to that program were in the building. Section 548.057(3) requires the Commission to ensure all officials are Florida-licensed and expressly forbids a promoter from influencing their appointment.
- The state’s official record does not contain that contest. The Commission’s results sheet reportedly lists ten bouts. Eleven took place. For the eleventh there is no approval, no result, no scheduled rounds, and no officials of record.
- The announced participants may not have been the actual participants. An exhibition was announced between the promotion’s founder and a named opponent; reporting indicates neither appeared on the weigh-in results, and the promotion’s own accounts publicly disputed whether the person who walked to the ring was the founder.
- A 112-pound weight mismatch. That same bout was billed at 202 pounds against 90 pounds, with both participants listed as making their boxing debuts, against a statutory cap of twelve pounds.
“A single failure on a fight card is a reason for a citation. What happened in Orlando was not a single failure,” Eskamani wrote. “It was an unpermitted fight, an unlicensed official installed in place of four licensed ones the state had assigned, a missing entry in the state’s own record, an unverified identity, a mismatch no weight rule contemplates, and a promotion that answered all of it by saying the fight in question was entertainment and therefore none of the Commission’s business.”
“Revocation is the only response that matches this conduct,” she continued, “and it is the only one that protects the fighters who will otherwise be matched by these same people in this same state and the public and venue employees who could be placed in harm’s way based on this public display of lawlessness.”
The letter also notes that in April of this year, the Commission’s executive director submitted written testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation citing Florida as the national model for regulating the sport. “If that is truly the case,” Eskamani wrote, “then you will act immediately upon receipt of this letter.”
In addition to revocation, the letter asks the Commission to issue an emergency suspension order under s. 548.07, determine whether any licensee failed the mandatory reporting duty in s. 548.058(2), refer conduct that may violate ss. 548.008(3) or 548.058(3) to the appropriate prosecuting authority, refer questions about the promotion’s financing by an offshore gaming operator to the Florida Gaming Control Commission, and place the matter on the agenda of the Commission’s next public meeting with a written staff report.
The letter includes a public records request under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, for the permit file, the approved bout sheet and official results sheet, officials’ assignments, licensure records, weigh-in and medical clearance documents, bout contracts, and all correspondence between the Commission and the promoter or venue operator.
Rep. Eskamani requested a written response no later than Monday, September 14, 2026. The letter was copied to Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Melanie S. Griffin, State Attorney Monique Worrell, members of the Florida Athletic Commission, and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.
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