area until 2011. CV Productions, Inc. developed a fight format to appeal to mainstream audiences, and partnered with concert promotion specialists Di cesare-Engler Productions of Pittsburgh. After major successes in the Pennsylvania region, the company laid the ground work to expand. CV Productions, Inc. promoted mixed martial arts as a mainstream professional sport, understanding that the concept had unlimited potential for growth. Viola and Caliguri devoted meticulous attention to fight details, rules, regulations, and competitor safety in order to gain widespread acceptance. The first codified set of mixed martial arts rules were written by Bill Viola in 1979, an eleven-page rule book that parallels modern mma rules of today. The competitions legalized mixed fighting techniques but also implemented safety precautions that forbid certain attacks such as eye gouging and groin strikes. The fight league was decades ahead of its successors by instituting weight classes, open figured safety equipment, headgear, ring side doctors, back stage physicians, professional referees and fighter contracts. In 1980 CV Productions, Inc. retained Attorney James Irwin to begin negotiating national television rights. "Tough man" vs. "Tough guy" controversy In 1979 Viola and Caliguri pitched the idea of “anything goes fighting,” looking for the toughest fighters in America to enter The Tough Man competition scheduled for March 1980 Unknown to them, Michigan businessman Art Dore was attempting a boxing tournament called “Toughman Contest.” CV Productions, Inc. immediately changed their initial promotion to the “Tough Guy” contest to distinguish themselves. Tough Guy events were MMA-style fights that utilized open-fingered gloves and permitted ground fighting, and all styles of martial arts. Toughman contests were purely boxing and used 16-ounce gloves. The companies had no affiliation with each other. Banning mixed martial arts On November 6, 1980, CV Productions, Inc. was ordered by The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission to cancel their upcoming show in Greensburg, PA. CV was given an ultimatum; if they proceeded, the Pennsylvania State Police would intervene and shut the event down. CV Productions, Inc. ignored the warning citing that the Athletic Commission had no proven jurisdiction or legal right to stop combined fighting competitions. Under the Pennsylvania Athletic Code Act of August 31, 1955 (P.L.531, No.131), the state oversaw boxing and professional wrestling, but mixed martial arts was a new sport. On November 6 and 7, 1980 the Greensburg show went on, only to open the door for further scrutiny by the government. In a bizarre turn