Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in the world and the fact that it is not sanctioned in New York state is a damn shame. In America, forty eight states have athletic commissions, of those forty eight states, forty four legalize and host mixed martial arts events. Obviously, New York is not one of these states and to me this is mind-boggling. MMA is legalized in countries throughout the world and events have been held in various places in the past such as Montreal, Canada, London, England, Sydney, Australia and Cologne Germany. In the upcoming year, the UFC plans to expand and host events in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and Toronto, Canada. Most of America and the world are accepting of MMA, however for some reason New York is not on board? New York used to be home to some of the greatest fights in history such as Muhammad Ali and Joe Fraziers' first encounter which was dubbed the “Fight of the Century.” However, with the recent demise of boxing, MMA is the gateway to restoring New York and Madison Square Garden as the place to be when it comes to hand to hand combat. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is aware of this and they are currently in a fight themselves to finally get MMA legalized in New York.
The main reason why MMA is not sanctioned in New York is because of numerous misconceptions. Since 1997, New York has held an active ban on this sport and many people in our government still see MMA competitors as barbarians who are bloodthirsty and are out to pummel one another to death within the cage. The misconceptions became so large that MMA competition was even labeled as “human cockfighting” by Sen. John McCain. Since that time, MMA has gone under a complete overhaul, and many rules have been put in place to display MMA as a safe sport. Various dangerous techniques such as kicking the head of a downed opponent, eye-gouging, and head-butting have been outlawed under the Unified Rules which have been in place since 2001. Referees are always the third man in the cage to oversee the fighters safety, and will stop a fight the second they feel a fighter is not intelligently defending themselves. Our government needs to do their homework, because the idea that modern MMA is no holds barred could not be further from the truth. In the twenty year history of the UFC, there has neither been a death nor a serious injury inside the octagon. Fighters who compete within any organization, wether it is the UFC or not, have to go through full government medical testing before they are allowed to compete. This is done to protect the fighters at all costs and if a fighter is not cleared, then they are not allowed to compete wether they are fighting in the nights opening fight or the main event. Precautions are al so taken immediately after the fights, with full medial staffs on hand who provide proper medial attention to all in need. With all these requirements in place, MMA is a very safe sport. There is no data to support the claim that MMA is any more dangerous than other impact sports such as football, hockey and boxing. According to a study completed by the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, it was concluded that due to the lower knockout rates in MMA compared to boxing, MMA fighters are less susceptible to brain injuries and head trauma. The UFC have acknowledged all these misconceptions and are confident that they will be able to educate the higher ups into voting approval for this sport to enter our state.
When Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC are finally sanctioned, the UFC plans on hosting two or more yearly events in New York. Obviously one of these events will be an annual mega show at MSG and the other will most likely be a smaller Fight Night card in Buffalo or elsewhere within the state. The economic impact this would have on our state is tremendous. According to an independent study by Jamie Springer of HR&A Advisors, with the two shows the UFC plans to put on alone, New York is looking at generating 23 million dollars on an average basis. These events would also open up and create over two hundred much needed jobs for our natives. With the economic crisis our nation is currently in, this type of revenue would be hu gely beneficial to our state. Of corse this is just the UFC, other smaller promotions would also host events, which could see an even higher increase in return profit. Since MMA is not sanctioned, New Yorkers are traveling to neighboring states to watch these events. Events are constantly held in bordering states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, and even Canada. Why is New York denying the tax and tourism revenue that high profile MMA events could bring in to the state? Local businesses, restaurants and hotels will thrive off the new customers these events will provide. Mixed Martial Arts is in popular demand, people want to see it and will pay to see this product. Our rival cities are bidding to host these events because of the cash flow they bring in, New York needs to open their eyes and do the same. Legalizing Mixed Martial Arts, is a wonderful chance to raise revenue, and help our struggling economy. Money talks, and Mixed Martial Arts especially the UFC have the numbers to back it up.
With MMA getting sanctioned, it also means a job increase for fighters as well. Since the blowup of this sport, there have not been many big name fighters to come out of the New York area. The only fighters worth noting to have come from New York are Long Island's Matt Serra, Jon Jones from Rochester and Niagara Falls born fighter Rashad Evans. This is a shame because many New York based fighters are not getting the proper e xposure they deserve, because of difficulty finding fights. Young fighters are not wealthy enough to travel to different states, so their fighting market is substantially decreased then others in neighboring states. If MMA was to get sanctioned, local fighters would be able to showcase their skills to a larger audience and find the big break they need in order to make a living. Every time the UFC puts on an event, they make sure to give up and coming locals a chance to compete on the nights un-televised preliminary card. With the recent addition of the WEC, two new devisions were introduced, which means the UFC is now home to seven different weight classes. This is important because it gives fighters of any size more of a chance to make a living for themselves competing in the sport they love. The New York area is also home to some prominent and renowned MMA schools throughout the world such as Renzo Gracie's JuJitsu Academy on West 30th Street and Kru Phil Nurse's Muay Thai school “Wat” in downtown Manhattan. These schools are currently grooming local up and coming fighters to be stars. With MMA being sanctioned in New York, these fighters would have a better chance of improving and getting recognized for their talents.
Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to attended many basketball, football, baseball, and hockey games. However, I have never witnessed more excitement within an arena than I did when I attended a Mixed Martial Arts event. The energy level was through the roof the minute I placed my foot inside the stadium and it only grew throughout the night. I have personally attended two Mixed Martial Arts shows, both of which were held in New Jersey and I can confidently say they were two of the best nights of my life. The first show I saw was a Strikeforce event, which I attended with three of my closest friends in a night which saw Kimbo Slice as the main attraction. The other show I attended was with my family to UFC 78. At the UFC event I attended, the weigh-ins which were held the day before and were open to the public. Because of this, I was able to meet many fighters. This was surprising to me because I just so happened to run into them inside the crowd. The fighters were fans like me and they wanted to see the show. In order to do this, they were putting themselves out there for the fans to meet and never in my life did I meet athletes who were so kind to their fans. The live events these promotions put on are mind blowing and spectacular. Watching it on television is great fun and exciting, but there is nothing like seeing it live. It is without a doubt, the single most exciting live sporting event one could ever see and New York deserves it.
Now is the time for MSG to be home to some great fights. The education process seems to be working as the government is finally open and conside ring passing the bill. For to long has Mixed Martial Arts been banned in New York and the time is now to lift this ban. The evidence is clear and opponents of MMA do not have much of a leg to stand on. The facts support themselves and New York can no longer be driven by emotional reactions. The positive impact MMA would have on our local economy is evident and can no longer be denied. The full court press the UFC is using appears to be working since MMA has recently been talked about being added to the Governor's budget. These are all positive signs that us New York fans will finally be able to witness amazing fights inside the Worlds Most Famous Arena. I can picture it now, the long awaited fight between the two pound for pound best fighters in the world headlining MSG, Georges St. Pierre vs Anderson Silva. Please, New York do the right thing and legalize MMA, lift this ridiculous ban and give yourself and the fans something to be proud about.
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