Events featuring every combat sport except MMA seem to be allowed in New York, though this is not explicitly stated in the law.
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The suit asks a judge to declare the law unconstitutionally vague, setting the stage for UFC matches in the Empire State.
In Monday’s lawsuit, the UFC said it had signed a contract to hold an event at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and that the ban was costing it millions of dollars in revenue.
UFC on Monday filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the 1997 state law banning MMA events is unconstitutional – out-of-date and unclear, and allows regulators “to pick and choose arbitrarily what events they will permit”. “Professional MMA is legal around of the world and it is about time New York followed suit”.
After setting the table with background information about the UFC, the introduction starts to get to the heart of the issue.
On September 28, UFC filed a new case in federal court, reiterating its claim that the New York law banning MMA events is unconstitutional. As of right now, no fights have been announced for the MSG event, but UFC officials did state that “the UFC’s top champions will be competing against other world-class athletes”.
Yes, we all know it as modern rules, Dutch and Japanese-inspired kickboxing, but both have used the popularity of MMA to brand themselves as a form of “mixed martials arts” in the past. For years, Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, has lobbied to see the sport legalized and placed under the jurisdiction of the New York State Athletic Commission, but a bill that would accomplish that has never reached a state Assembly vote. Earlier this year, UFC president Dana White publicly stated the promotion had reserved December 5 at Madison Square Garden, but those plans were nixed when legislation again failed to legalize the sport at the conclusion of a summer session in June.
The participants for the event have not been announced yet but you can bet that UFC would want big names as headliners.
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After explaining the history behind the original regulation (yes, pro MMA was legal and regulated for a short period in “96-’97) and ban, the UFC then outlines how “MMA Today Is Not What the New York Legislature Banned in 1997”. If that injunction is not granted, the planned fight card at the Garden would not take place.
