MMA bill never been this close in NY
“This is a big step forward for MMA, the athletes and the huge fan base the sport enjoys in New York, however, there are still more steps before New York finally crosses the hurdle to legalize professional MMA.”
For nine years UFC representatives went to NY’s capitol Albany to try to get mixed martial arts legalized and regulated. Five times it passed the Senate but Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver refused to bring it to a vote. Last January, Silver resigned as Speaker, following his arrest on corruption charges; the plague has since been convicted and sent to jail.
The new Assembly Speaker, Carl Heastie, is a supporter of the bill. However, last year the bill again passed the Senate, in multiple versions, but it did not get sufficient support in the Assembly, again.
So New York remains the only state or province in North America where MMA is prohibited. But amateur MMA contests are taking place, often without blood tests. It is known that fighters with Hepatitis and even HIV are competing in New York, but without regulation, nothing is stopping them.
The MMA bill has once again passed the Republican-controlled Senate. In a first, the New York State Assembly now says it will vote on the mixed martial arts regulation bill at some next week. It must however first get through three committees: Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development; Codes; and Ways and Means.
New York Newsday reports that the bill needs a simple majority — 76 votes — in the Assembly to pass. The majority Democratic conference typically doesn’t move a bill to the floor without having the necessary votes on its own to pass the bill. It is believed that there are approximately 80 Democrats in favor of legalizing the sport. The Assembly bill also has 73 sponsors across party lines attached to it.
Should the bill pass the Assembly floor, it would then go to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office for his signature. The governor included MMA revenue in executive budget proposal earlier this year, his most overt act of support for the bill.
The New York State Athletic Commission then will have 120 days to adopt guidelines and regulations for use as the sanctioning body.
The UFC issued a formal statement, from VP of Global Business Development and Government Relations Michael J Britt.
We want to thank Speaker Heastie and of course we also need to thank Majority Leader Morelle, who has worked tirelessly to educate his colleagues and build support on both sides of the aisle, but particularly among Assembly Democrats. Our thanks, as well, go to those legislators in both houses and both parties who have supported this effort over the years.
This is a big step forward for MMA, the athletes and the huge fan base the sport enjoys in New York, however, there are still more steps before New York finally crosses the hurdle to legalize professional MMA. We look forward to working with the chairs of the committees and all Assemblymembers to provide them with any information they may need as they address the bill to legalize and regulate MMA.
UFC president Dana White had a simple response.
