Once again the State of New York has shut the door on Mixed Martial Arts. Unfortunately fans will have to wait that much longer to ever see their favourite UFC fighters head to the octagon inside Madison Square Garden.
Earlier today The New York Daily News reported that The Assembly Democratic conference discussed behind closed doors whether to bring a bill to legalize mixed martial arts in New York. Speaker Sheldon Silver determined the votes weren’t there for it to pass.
“It will not come to the floor this year,” Silver told the Daily News The conference, he said, “was pretty evenly divided.”
He then stated that he wouldn’t rule out passage of MMA in the next year or two. “I think it’s evolving,” he said. “I don’t think two years ago it was a 50-50 proposition.”
UFC Vice-President Marc Ratner was also on hand and had this to say, “I feel 150% if we had a vote on the floor of the Assembly we would win, not to get a vote is un-American.”
So no UFC or MMA at all in 2012 in the State of New York, but let’s cross our fingers for 2013.