And then there was one ... New York

Mixed Martial Arts is about to become legal in the state of Connecticut, leaving New York State as the only one in America that has failed to sanction a sport that is globally popular. 

Not that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his band of stooges care, but it's beyond embarrassing that the UFC and Bellator are prohibited from holding sanctioned events in New York. A UFC show at Madison Square Garden would be a monumental economic windfall for New York City and the Big Apple. Then again, you're talking about Assembly men who find it viable to determine what's harmful for the rest of us citizens of the Empire State.

Here's the sad part: It's perfectly OK to hold unsanctioned and unregulated MMA in the state of New York. Remember, we're talking about NYS Assemblymen here, at least those too ignorant to come to their senses.

Here's the release on Connecticut's green light and why New York, by choice, remains in neutral:

ALBANY, NY June 5, 2013 – Lorenzo Fertitta, The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Chairman & CEO, praised the Connecticut General Assembly’s Senate for giving final passage to a bill to legalize mixed martial arts (MMA) in Connecticut.  The bill passed out of the Senate by a vote of 26-9 today and out of the House of Representative earlier in the legislative session by a vote of 117-26.

“Assuming Governor Dan Malloy signs the bill into law, Connecticut will become the 49th state to legalize MMA.  There will be only one state in the entire United States of America where professional MMA will remain illegal,” Fertitta said.  “I know New York likes to think of itself as a leader but when it comes to the fastest growing sport in the nation, New York is now the only outlier. 

“Not only will New York be the only state to ban professional MMA, it will continue to be the only state to allow amateur MMA – albeit unregulated and potentially dangerous – while banning professional MMA,” Fertitta said.  “It’s time, New York.  The Senate has passed the bill four years in a row by overwhelming bipartisan majorities.  It’s time for the Assembly to allow the bill to be voted upon.  It’s time for New York to legalize and regulate MMA.”

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