Quick Definition
CSAC is the California state agency that licenses fighters, officials, and promoters and enforces the rules for professional boxing, kickboxing, and MMA events held in the state.
What is CSAC?
CSAC operates under the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Its roots go back to a 1924 ballot initiative, which makes it one of the oldest sports regulators in the country and predates California’s involvement in MMA by eight decades.
The job is simple to state and hard to execute: no fighter competes in California without a CSAC license, and no professional event happens without CSAC signing off on the matchmaking, the officials, and the medical staff on-site.
The United States has no federal athletic commission. Each state runs its own, and CSAC is one of a small handful that actually shape how MMA gets regulated nationally, largely because of how often the UFC has run cards at California venues like Honda Center and the Golden 1 Center.
A chair and vice chair sit atop a small board of commissioners who set policy. An executive officer handles day-to-day operations and speaks for the agency in public; Andy Foster has held that role since 2012.
One distinction trips people up. CSAC directly licenses and oversees the professional side of boxing, kickboxing, and MMA, but for every one of those sports it hands amateur competition off to a separate governing body: USA Boxing for amateur boxing, the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO) for amateur MMA, and sport-specific groups like the International Kickboxing Federation for amateur kickboxing.
How CSAC works
Oversight starts long before fight night. Promoters submit bout cards for review, fighters and cornermen apply for licenses, and every fighter needs a current physical and neurological clearance on file. For a major card, that process can start six or more weeks out.
On event day, CSAC sends its own inspectors and licensed officials rather than relying on anyone the promotion employs, and a ringside physician can stop a fight over the objection of a fighter’s corner. If something during a bout warrants it, CSAC can suspend or revoke a license after the fact.
That authority comes from California’s Business and Professions Code, specifically the State Athletic Commission Act, often called the California Boxing Act despite covering MMA and kickboxing too. On the boxing side, CSAC also enforces the federal Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act.
CSAC vs. NSAC
Casual fans often use “CSAC” and “NSAC” interchangeably, but they’re separate state agencies with no formal relationship beyond following the same Unified Rules of MMA. NSAC is the Nevada Athletic Commission, commonly called the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and it’s the other regulator most MMA fans have heard of because so many UFC pay-per-views run through Las Vegas.
| CSAC | NSAC | |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | California | Nevada |
| Parent agency | California Department of Consumer Affairs | Nevada Department of Business and Industry |
| Formed | 1924 | 1941 |
| Headquarters | Sacramento | Las Vegas |
| Signature venues | Honda Center, Golden 1 Center, SAP Center | T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand Garden Arena |
| A defining 2010s action | 2017 ten-point plan against extreme weight-cutting | 2014 ban on testosterone-replacement therapy |
| A recent milestone | 2023 law creating the first MMA retirement fund of its kind | 2024 decision to stop disciplining fighters for cannabis |
Neither commission outranks the other. A fighter licensed in California isn’t automatically cleared to compete in Nevada, and a suspension handed down by one doesn’t always carry the same weight with the other, since each operates under its own state law.
Regulatory milestones
CSAC’s authority over MMA didn’t exist until the state approved rules for it on December 28, 2005, making California the 20th state to sanction the sport. A few moments since then explain most of how the commission works today.
In 2009, CSAC delegated amateur MMA oversight to CAMO rather than regulating it directly, which is why amateur cards in the state answer to a different rulebook than professional ones. In May 2017, under executive officer Andy Foster, the commission approved its ten-point plan against extreme weight-cutting, adding a same-day weight check and steeper fines for missing contracted weight; two years later, in October 2019, it went further and voted to cancel any bout where a fighter showed up more than 15 percent over their contracted weight.
The most recent shift is financial rather than procedural. Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1136 in October 2023, directing CSAC to build a retirement benefit fund for MMA fighters, the first program of its kind anywhere.
Fighters become eligible at age 50 if they’ve competed in at least 39 rounds of CSAC-sanctioned professional MMA. In mid-2026, CSAC launched a specialty license plate, with proceeds split between that new MMA fund and the boxers’ pension plan it has run since 1982.
Common misconceptions
A frequent assumption is that CSAC drug-tests UFC fighters directly. It doesn’t, at least not for the promotion’s marquee events.
Since 2024, UFC’s anti-doping program has been run nationally by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), independent of any single state commission. CSAC still licenses the event and can act on a positive test through its own disciplinary process, but the testing itself sits with CSAD rather than the commission.
Another common mix-up: assuming CSAC directly runs every amateur card in the state. It doesn’t.
Amateur oversight is delegated sport by sport, to CAMO for MMA and to bodies like USA Boxing for amateur boxing, and CSAC’s own jurisdiction stops at California’s border regardless. A fighter suspended by CSAC can, in theory, still compete elsewhere unless the Association of Boxing Commissions’ member states choose to honor the suspension.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does CSAC stand for?
California State Athletic Commission, the state agency that licenses and regulates boxing, kickboxing, and professional MMA in California.
Is CSAC the same as NSAC?
No. CSAC regulates California, NSAC regulates Nevada, and the two are independent agencies that simply follow the same Unified Rules of MMA.
Does CSAC test fighters for PEDs?
CSAC can order testing and discipline a positive result, but for UFC events since 2024, sample collection and results management run through Combat Sports Anti-Doping rather than the commission itself.
Who runs CSAC?
A governor-appointed chair and board of commissioners set policy. Andy Foster has served as executive officer, handling daily operations, since 2012.
Does CSAC regulate amateur MMA?
No. CSAC delegated that authority to the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO) in 2009. Amateur boxing and kickboxing work the same way, handled by USA Boxing and other sport-specific bodies rather than CSAC directly.
Sources
- Wikipedia. “California State Athletic Commission.” Accessed September 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Athletic_Commission - ESPN. “California Establishes First Retirement Fund for Mixed Martial Arts Fighters.” October 2023.
https://www.espn.co.uk/mma/story/_/id/38627574/california-establish-first-retirement-fund-mma-fighters - MMA Junkie. “California Approves 10-Point Weight-Cutting Plan With Big Changes.” May 2017.
https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2017/05/california-state-athletic-commission-weight-cutting-10-point-plan - Yahoo Sports. “California’s New License Plates Help Fund Retired Fighter Pension Fund.” May 2026.
https://sports.yahoo.com/mma/article/somebodys-got-to-do-it-first-californias-new-license-plates-help-fund-retired-fighter-pension-fund-190736599.html - NPR. “California Lifts Ban on Mixed Martial Arts.” March 2006.
https://www.npr.org/2006/03/23/5297320/california-lifts-ban-on-mixed-martial-arts - Wikipedia. “Nevada State Athletic Commission.” Accessed September 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_State_Athletic_Commission - California Regulatory Law Reporter, University of San Diego School of Law. “California State Athletic Commission.” Volume 30, No. 1, Fall 2024.
https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3235&context=crlr - California Department of Consumer Affairs, California State Athletic Commission. Public meeting agendas and minutes, 2024 to 2025.
https://www.dca.ca.gov/csac/meetings/index.shtml
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