It looks like the mixed martial arts will remain illegal in New York. The state Senate has already passed a bill in favor of legalizing the popular sport for the fifth year in a row. The bill is likely to be rejected in the Democrat-controlled Assembly that has refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
New York is the only state in the nation that bans the sport. Members of the Ultimate Fighting Championship were in Albany to make their case. UFC’s chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein wants the democratic process to work by allowing the bill to go to the Assembly floor and allow a vote to happen. He noted that the Assembly bill has 60 sponsors. It only needs 76 votes for passage. He added that the UFC is confident that if a vote is allowed, it would pass the New York Assembly.
The State of New York has banned mixed martial arts in the 1990s. Critics have called it barbaric, anti-gay, and misogynistic. Officials of the UFC have denied the accusations. Assemblywoman Deborah Glick of Manhattan has been one of the top critics of the sport. She said the only goal of the sport is to inflict as much pain as possible. Supporters said the opposition from the Assembly comes from a non-related union dispute involving the UFC in Las Vegas.
Alexis Davis, one of the UFC fighters, dismissed claims that mixed martial arts degrades women. It is exactly the opposite. It empowers women. She said that she was a quiet kid with self-esteem issues. Mixed martial arts allowed her to build her confidence.
Democrats in the Assembly are expected to discuss whether to allow a vote on the floor. Some supporters of the sport say that its legalization is inevitable in New York.
