UFC’s Garden Party – Legal MMA Finally Arrives In New York

The arrest of New York State Assemblyman Sheldon Silver in 2015 on corruption charges sent shockwaves through the political scene of the Empire State. But in-the-know fans of Mixed Martial Arts secretly rejoiced, knowing that with his arrest (and subsequent conviction), the state’s ban of MMA would finally come to an end.

By the time this article sees print, New York State will be the last of the 50 states to officially vote to legalize MMA. This will allow for Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White to realize one of his dreams, a UFC Pay Per View being held at the Mecca of sports venues, Madison Square Garden. The path to legalization was literally a loop-de-loop of sorts, as New York was the first states to actually ALLOW what would become mixed martial arts under the auspices of the New York State Athletic Commission.

In 1996, after three years of holding events under a perceived “no holds barred” atmosphere, UFC owners SEG had made an agreement with the NYSAC that allowed their style of competition to be regulated by the state. As a result, UFC would hold their next event, UFC 12, in Niagara Falls, NY near the Canadian border (and far from New York City and the press mob that comes with it) to present their first ever show featuring 2 weight classes in an attempt to appear more as a sport than spectacle. The talks were somewhat clandestine, as NY politicians could not drum up support for a full on ban, and agreed to regulation. A successful, low key event held away from the city could pave the way for future events in bigger towns and, as UFC saw it, would give them the time to legitimize their events away from the aura of being a “bloodsport”. Then along came a rival organization, EFC, who used the legislation opening to immediately book an event in Manhattan with the promotional line “‘Extreme Fighting — Whatever It Takes to Win’ – The roughest, toughest, most brutal fighting event in the history of television.” That was all the bait the New York press needed. Despite the warring promoters using the language of sport to describe their events, the New York Times article’s first paragraph was blistering, still referring to the competition as “human cockfighting”. Embarrassed and enraged, the New York politicians, who admittedly could not immediately ban the events (despite the efforts of NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani) instead forced the UFC show to a huge new set of rules, including the use of headgear. A court fight ensued, but with a ruling going against UFC the day before the show, UFC had no choice but to relocate the event to Dohan, Alabama with less than 24 hours notice. A bill banning extreme fighting was soon signed, preventing any form of professional combat sport in the state for nearly 20 years.

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