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REGINA -- Mixed martial arts events will soon be legal in Saskatchewan, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship says thats good for athletes. The government is setting up an athletics commission that will have the authority to sanction professional combative sports, including MMA. "A provincial athletics commission will help ensure the safety of everyone involved in professional combative sport competitions," Saskatchewan Sport Minister Kevin Doherty said Wednesday. The move comes after the House of Commons passed a bill in June legalizing contact sports such as MMA. The legislation makes professional boxing and MMA contests legal in Canada when they have the authorization of a provincial athletics commission. Only boxing was allowed under the old prize-fighting law, leaving combat sports, including taekwondo, karate and MMA in legal limbo. Tom Wright, director of UFC operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, says it means athletes wont have to move for their sport. Wright points out that MMA fighter Mitch Clarke is from Saskatchewan, but trains in Edmonton because he couldnt compete professionally in his home province. Wright also says having legal fights makes it safer for athletes. "Thats the cornerstone of protecting the health and safety of our athletes is to make sure that the sport is properly regulated. Now that an athletic commission is going to be set up in Saskatchewan, that will be the case for all organizations that want to hold a mixed martial arts competition," Wright said in a phone interview from Vancouver. "Particularly for ourselves, it paves the way for us to be able to bring the UFC to Saskatchewan." Wright says there is no timeline yet on when that might happen. Steps are underway to have the commission in Saskatchewan running by next summer. The commission will be responsible for tracking competitors fighting history and ensure safety protocols are enforced. The Saskatchewan Martial Arts Association will sanction and oversee amateur combative sports including mixed martial arts, kickboxing, modified Muay Thai and full-contact karate. The association said in a news release that it will immediately start sanctioning amateur combative sporting events. "By regulating amateur competitions, we help eliminate unsanctioned fights that put athletes at risk," said association president Tim Oehler. MMA is currently sanctioned at a provincial level in British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, while it has been sanctioned on a municipal level within Alberta, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories. The UFC has held 14 shows to date in Canada, with cards in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Wright has said the UFC will hold a show in Halifax within the next couple of years. 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The likes of Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Dara Howell and Mikael Kingsbury will be there, but there was one glaring absence on the squad unveiled Wednesday. Two-time Olympic moguls gold medallist Alex Bilodeau retired after the last World Cup season, leaving a big hole on the team as it begins the long road to the 2018 Games in South Korea. Bilodeau became the first Canadian to win Olympic gold on home soil with his memorable victory at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, and he repeated the performance in Sochi earlier this year. Kingsbury, who battled Bilodeau for the last few years and finished second in Russia this winter, says he will miss competing against his rival. "The first couple World Cups, Im going to miss somebody to look up to and to learn from. Hes been a great athlete," Kingsbury said on a conference call. "He pushed me. Since I was very young, he was my role model." Kingsbury is a three-time overall World Cup champion, and while he and Bilodeau were friends away from the hill, they were fierce opponents on it. "Im going to miss him in a way, but in another way he was one of the strongest competitors to have," said Kinsbury, a native of Deux Montagnes, Que. "Im going to try to have new motivation, to continue to push and work hard to stay ranked first in the world." Kingsbury, who turns 22 next week, said Bilodeaus retirement doesnt open any doors because hes already had a lot of success in his young career. "He was the star for sure. He won the Olympics in Vancouver -- first (Canadian) gold medallist to win on home soil -- and Sochi," Kingsbury said. "He won the two days that he needed to win, but at the same time I dont think its my turn to shine because I won the Crystal Globe and he was there, I won the world championship and he was there.dddddddddddd "At the Olympics he did his run. I tried everything I could to win but he had the run that he needed and he totally deserved it." Like the rest of the freestyle ski team, Kingsburys focus is primed on training for the coming season, with thoughts of the 2018 Olympics in South Korea also lingering. "I just want to continue what Ive been doing, and not do more because Alex is not there," he said. "If he would have continued I would have been super happy and still would have worked hard to win the gold medal in 2018. Thats my next plan. "Its four years -- four years is long. Im going to be ready for 2018 but theres many things to come." Dufour-Lapointe, who won gold in Sochi in womens moguls, said she will take it one year at a time as she starts to build towards the next Games. "Personally I feel like Im still on a high from the Olympics," said the 20-year-old from Montreal. "What keeps me going is I feel like I can still get better and theres room for improvement." Also headlining the Canadian team for the 2014-15 season is Howell, who topped the podium in womens slopestyle in Sochi, Chloe Dufour-Lapointe -- the silver medallist in moguls behind her younger sister at the Games -- and Kim Lamarre, who finished third in slopestyle. The other Sochi medallist on this years team is Mike Riddle, who took silver in halfpipe. The rest of the Canadian freestyle team for the upcoming year includes: aerial skiers Travis Gerrits, Olivier Rochon, Jean-Christophe Andre and Sabrina Guerin; halfpipe skiers Mike Riddle, Justin Dorey, Simon dArtois, Rosalind Groenewoud, Keltie Hansen, Megan Gunning; slopestyle skiers Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, Alex Bellemare, Evan McEachran and Kaya Turski; and moguls skiers Marc-Antoine Gagnon, Philippe Marquis, Maxime Dufour-Lapointe and Audrey Robichaud. 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