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MMA making strides in NY (from associated press/wtop.com)
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN
Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Mixed martial arts moved closer to New York arenas Wednesday after lawmakers touting tax revenue and safety rules squared off with colleagues decrying the sport's contribution to an American culture of violence.
The combination of kickboxing, wrestling and martial arts pits fighters in a cage or other enclosure, wearing only shorts and small gloves. They fight until one is knocked or choked out, quits or is declared the winner after bouts of three or five rounds.
Now legal in 38 states, fight organizers see New York as a major market for live shows. The state, which is trying to dig out of a fiscal crisis, would get a share of the money from tickets sold at major venues like Madison Square Garden.
A state Assembly committee that killed the measure a year ago agreed Wednesday to move it to the floor for a vote.
Assemblyman Robert Reilly of Albany County, the bill's chief opponent, acknowledged afterward that it will be difficult to stop it now.
"I will fight this on the floor. I'm not very optimistic," he said. "What I believe is that violence begets violence, and that we, as a legislature, have to stop what is forming a culture of violence."
"We have girls arrested for fighting in Albany High School. We had 20 boys who formed an ultimate fighting club," Reilly said of his own community. "If we say this is acceptable in our society, that's a message which I think we do not want to give."
Assemblyman Jonathan Bing of Manhattan said he's not a mixed martial arts fan, but the issue isn't what he or Reilly find entertaining. Instead, it's whether the benefits outweigh the negatives. It's similar to other contact sports like boxing, and the and the most serious injuries in professional bouts sponsored by Ultimate Fighting Championship, the biggest organizer, have been one broken arm and one broken leg, he said.
"This is going to be the most regulated sport in New York state," Bing said. That will include medical exams, fight doctors, and prohibiting fighters under 18, as well as spectators under 16 without a parent or guardian. "This legislation will give the state new tools to go after underground matches."
The bill going to the full Assembly would give the New York State Athletic Commission authority to regulate the sport. The measure failed by a single vote last year in the same committee that approved it Wednesday.
Backers said they're optimistic the state Senate will vote to legalize the sport and send the measure to Gov. David Paterson, who hasn't publicly said whether he supports legalization.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, which dominates the sport of mixed martial arts, estimated total direct spending at a Buffalo event at $1.7 million, generating $320,000 in total state tax revenue. The estimates rises to nearly $1 million in tax revenue for a New York City event generating some $5.7 million in direct spending.
UFC president Dana White, who has led the charge in getting the sport sanctioned elsewhere, recently told The Associated Press that he believes a show could be held in New York as soon as the state athletic commission grants approval. The iconic Madison Square Garden is even featured in the recently released "UFC: Undisputed" video game.
"It's only a matter of time until we get things passed in New York," White said.
The legislation would impose an 8.5 percent tax on ticket receipts with no cap, as well as 3 percent of broadcasting rights with a $50,000 cap.
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Caveman ---> Dude with spear ---> some random breeding ----> Carlson Sr. ---> Maguilla ---> NOW just ME!
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