New York State will become the last state in the nation to legalize Mixed Martial Arts, following a vote in the Assembly Tuesday.
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The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
“The way Albany works, sometimes bills take time to mature, they get amended, and the membership changes”, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Tuesday afternoon.
The bill needs a simple majority – 76 votes – in the Assembly to pass. The majority Democratic conference typically doesn’t move a bill to the floor without having the necessary votes on its own to pass the bill.
The debate has been opinionated on both sides, with those against the bill argued that the sport was too brutal and should remain banned, while others claimed that fights were already going on underground and that regulation would add a necessary shield of protection for amateur fighters. The bill – which is widely expected to pass – has support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has pledged to sign it.
The bill is opposed by some of the Assembly’s longest-tenured lawmakers, who have long raised concerns about the brutal nature of the sport and whether the state should allow such violent events. The governor included MMA revenue in executive budget proposal earlier this year.
NY is the last state to not recognize mixed martial arts fighting.
This would be the first time the chamber will have voted on MMA since the ban took place in 1997.
Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell, D-Manhattan, was more graphic during the Assembly’s debate, likening the sport – in which fighters wear little clothing and frequently grapple – to “gay porn with a different ending”.
In the years since, MMA developed a set of unified rules, established weight classes and is regulated by state athletic commissions. Weidman has been active in lobbying efforts over the past several years. Competitors, promoters and judges will also be required to purchase a license or permit from the state. But he said lifting the ban will have a positive economic impact on the state.
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“(The UFC) committed to do shows in New York and do shows in New York in areas that would bring people from out of state into New York”, Cuomo said.
