The sport of MMA has been growing for quite some time. That can clearly be seen by the numbers the pay-per-view for UFC 196 did when the title fight in that event wasn't even a championship fight. The UFC is not the only promotion going strong though as Bellator is among others that are also growing.
MMA has not been allowed to reach its full potential yet though because it was not legal in the biggest market in the United States. That market of course is New York and although there have been many people pushing for the sports legalization in the big apple it just wasn't happening. Tuesday marked a huge day for the sport though, as the bill to legalize the sport was passed fairly easily.
Governor George Pataki passed the bill to make Mixed Martial Arts illegal back in 1997 and it has stayed that way until Tuesday. Before getting to the assembly floor the bill had to be voted upon by three separate assembly committees which it did with relative ease. When the bill finally got to the New York State Assembly they debated the sport and took a vote which ended up 113-25 in favor of finally overturning the ban after a very long fight.
The next step for New York is getting governor Andrew Cuomo to sign the bill but that also should not be an issue. Cuomo has supported the leagilzation of MMA in the past and even went as far as including it in his exuctive budget proposal. Cuomo's main reason for support of the sport is that it will generate revenue for the state as he called it an "economic generator".
New York was the last of the 50 states to legalize MMA as all 49 other states have it legalized and regulated. The New York State Athletics Commission will now have 120 days to adopt guidelines and regulations for the sport in New York. The bills main sponsor, Joe Morelle, said that six months is a reasonable expectation for when the first MMA event in New York might be.
As for what that event might be, the UFC has a night reserved at Madison Square Garden in November to host a fight card. That would likely represent the first legal MMA event in New York and although it is too early to know who will be fighting you can bet that it will be a big night of fights. Bellator on the other hand has been in contact with the Barclays Center in Brooklyn about potentially having an event there.
