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. Over the next three years, a team headlined by UFC Hall of Famers Jeff Blatnick and “Big” John McCarthy made changes to the rules of UFC, mandating the use of fingerless gloves and regulating striking and submissions. They went on tour to various states, lobbying lawmakers and educating athletic commissions on the new rules to provide a stronger aura of legitimacy. In 2000, the hard work paid off as two states, California & New Jersey, allowed the UFC to hold mixed martial arts events under their respective State Athletic Commissions. As other states soon followed, SEG was nearly broke from the lobbying. They were bought out by The Fertitta brothers and Dana White, who formed a new company, Zuffa LLC, to manage the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand and bring it to new heights. The brothers had ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and easily got UFC approved for events in Las Vegas. This milestone created a crack that opened the floodgates for most states to allow the sport of MMA under constantly evolving rules and boxing-like weight classes. But the particular ownership of UFC by the Fertitta brothers also wound up extending the ban of the sport in New York for another decade.
The Fertitta brothers also run Station Casinos, a gaming corporation that specializes in casinos for Nevada locals. They are also one of the few gaming corporations in Las Vegas to not use union employees, much to the chagrin of powerful unions all over the U.S. One particular union UNITE HERE!, based in NYC, engaged in a ruthless fight with UFC due to their gaming ties. A lobbying campaign by UNITE HERE! caught the attention of Sheldon Silver, with advertisements and websites imploring any negative action towards UFC. Despite the State Senate actually passing a bill allowing MMA in the state, Silver himself repeatedly delayed efforts to even take a vote in the Assembly as recently as 2014. UFC has booked events in New York City (primarily MSG) in an effort to sue and demonstrate to the state a loss of revenue by the company to no avail. Silver’s connections to the labor unions almost ensured that even taking the issue to a vote would be a contentious fight, and it was only his dubious downfall that paved the way for this week’s historic vote. With a potential December date, UFC is expected to have New York State natives Jon Jones and Chris Weidman headline the show, and it can be a historic double title event if both men regain the titles they recently lost. Eventually, other NYC venues such as the Barclays Center will stage shows and will most likely render nearby venues such as the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ obsolete. But this week’s events are just the first steps to the biggest Garden Party the sporting world has ever seen.
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Steve TozinA connoisseur of global sports, entertainment, pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts. Archives
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