R.M. Schneiderman of the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the New York State Senate has passed a bill sponsoring the regulation of mixed martial arts:
New York moved one step closer to becoming the 45th state to regulate mixed martial arts, as the state Senate voted 32-26 to pass a bill on Wednesday that would legalize the sport.
Payout Perspective:
This is definitely positive news, but it’s still far too early to start celebrating. The Senate vote wasn’t a landslide at 32-26, and a similar bill will still have to pass through two votes in the Assembly before Gov. Patterson can sign off on regulating the sport.
Moreover, even if the bill does pass, there’s no guarantee we see MMA in New York this year due to the potential set-up time that might be required by the state athletic commission to begin proper oversight over the sport.
However, I can’t help but wonder if this news might apply additional pressure on Ontario to legalize the sport. These politicians may very well be looking around at the existing sports and entertainment landscape – one that heavily supports the tourism industry – and decide that they cannot afford to cede any more advantages to their competition, domestically or internationally.
I wonder if they became aware of how many New Yorkers (and their money) went to UFC 111.