NY ‘on verge’ of legalizing MMA as Ronda Rousey visits with Gov. Cuomo
According to the New York Post, New York is on the verge of regulating mixed martial arts, as Ronda Rousey lobbies to overcome stereotypes.
For nine years UFC representatives have gone to NY’s capitol Albany to try to get the sport legalized and regulated. Five time, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver refused to bring it to a vote. In January, Silver resigned as Speaker, following his arrest on corruption charges. The new Assembly Speaker, Carl Heastie, is a past supporter of the bill.
Now according to the New York Post, New York is on the verge of regulating mixed martial arts, as UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey lobbies to overcome stereotypes.
Rousey’s visit comes as Cuomo and legislators are very close to making a deal to include a provision the state budget to legalize MMA, a source close to budget negotiations said.
Cuomo had hinted that the controversial sport would be a welcome addition to bring economic development to upstate areas after he banned fracking.
This is a big sport, and it’s growing, Cuomo said earlier this month. It can create jobs and economic growth in the state of New York — and I’m interested in it.
Dana White, president of MMA’s promotional company UFC, was optimistic about the progress in Albany last week during a visit to the city.
We’ve been fighting for this for years, and I mean really fighting hard to get MMA in New York City, White told The Post.
This has been a long time coming.
White said the UFC had sent lawyers to the capital in an effort to finalize a deal and that disgraced former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was the last obstacle.
The legislation will need to be part of a larger agreement that includes contentious issues such as ethics reform, and tax credits for private schools.
New York’s Capitol Confidential discussed Rousey’s visit to Albany on Monday to meet with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the legislative leadership.
I really believe it will pass this year because … Silver, who got arrested for corruption — the fact that the guy who was arrested for corruption was against this bill is a testament that no one should have been against it at all, Rousey said at a press conference outside the Senate chambers after meeting with Cuomo, whom she called a cool guy, in his Capitol office. If the corrupted guy didn’t want it to pass, then I would like to be on the other side of that.
Amateur fights are legal in New York, though advocates say they can be unsafe because they’re unregulated.
There’s no kind of testing, there’s no kind of blood testing to make sure the athletes are safe, there’s no kind of drug testing, Rousey said. It’s so dangerous that something needs to be done about it. They need to be regulated. They need to be protected. They’re really being neglected right now.
She also touched on what she sees as the benefits of MMA for women.
I really hope to be a testament that MMA does nothing but empower women. Having women shown fighting on TV shows that it’s OK for us to be strong and it’s OK for us to fight.
“I feel like every single year there is progress and it just takes time for people to see outside of the stereotype of the sport and what the sport actually is, and how much good it does for people in the state in general. Ignorance has an expiration and every single year people are getting more and more educated on the sport and the subject.”
At this point, the last leader to persuade on legalizing professional MMA seems to be the governor. He has continued to review the potential economic impacts of the sport. Rousey said Cuomo (was) open-minded about legalization.
On Tuesday the Senate passed the bill for the sixth year in a row, this time by a vote of 47-14. Now it goes to the state Assembly, which previously resisted the measure under the Silver regime.