MMA has been held up in NY because the biggest lobbier of MMA in NY, UFC, who is ran by Zuffa, whose owners also own Stations Casinos, who operate out of Nevada. Apparently, they are not too union friendly, and the Culinary union who happen to represent many of their upset friends in Nevada, are the big source of lobbying against MMA here in NY.

As Bob Reilly and Liz Krueger demonstrate, many politicians who are against MMA know little to nothing about it. It makes me wonder who they have working for them that is gathering this severely outdated and inaccurate information that is being used as “fact”. It also makes me wonder if they are using the same poor fact gathering to “educate” themselves on other issues, that we as citizens, expect these politicians to make educated decisions on.

At the end of the day, everyone will eventually “win”. The politicians will receive thousands of dollars in contributions from lobbyists, Bob Reilly will say he fought as hard as he could to appease his conservative base, New York State as usual, will find a way to squeeze every red cent out of the proposed MMA bill 1707-a, and finally, MMA will eventually get passed in NY so all the fans can jump for joy at paying $5,000 for decent tickets when UFC comes to MSG.

UFC might be the only ones who can run professional MMA in NY and make money, but all of the smaller organizations will likely continue to run shows in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Vermont due to expenses.

What I really want to see, is the proposed rules for amateur MMA in New York, as I believe in the long run, that will have a greater impact on the State and the sport.