UFC has won their lawsuit against New York State, and can now begin holding events there immediately! YES!

Bauzen

Feb 14 |10:25

Last Updated on Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:33

It’s cold out today, there’s still some snow lingering from last week’s snowstorm, but if a day like today doesn’t call for some sort of outdoor celebration in New York State, I’m not sure what does. Invite Kimbo over for a BBQ and rejoice, because the UFC has won their lawsuit against New York State and can now begin holding events there legally as soon as they want to. Let’s be clear, MMA is still 100% illegal in New York, but the UFC is not. From now on, when someone tells you they ‘trane UFC’ – there is actually some validity to their claim. You simply can’t ridicule them like you could yesterday and everyday since Adam met Eve (or whatever origin of species theory you subscribe to).

I’d like to pretend I followed this case closely, but the props go to underground MMA connoisseur, author, and all around swell guy; Jim Genia. In an article on Fightline.com here’s the scoop:

“ Zuffa scored a big win in their lawsuit against New York today, paving the way for the organization to legally hold a UFC event in the state almost immediately and regardless of whether or not the ban on professional mixed martial arts is lifted by the legislature.

In what was supposed to be a day of oral arguments pertaining to the State Attorney General's most recent motion to dismiss, attorney John M. Schwartz – representing the Attorney General's office – acknowledged unequivocally that the law prohibiting pro MMA did not apply to amateur versions of the sport, and that as per the statute, a pre-approved third-party sanctioning body could oversee MMA events in the state. The admission of the latter prompted the counsel representing Zuffa's interests to say that if that were truly the case, then there'd be no further need to pursue the lawsuit – which in turn prompted the presiding Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S District Court of the Southern District of New York to push both sides to immediately settle.

The statute banning professional MMA in New York was enacted in 1997, at a time when fighting in a cage was more spectacle than sport. But MMA has evolved since then, and with the inclusion of a plethora of rules and a variety of weight classes, sanctioning can be attained in nearly every other state in the country. New York remains one of the last holdouts. Efforts to have the ban repealed by lobbying the legislature have stalled each year since 2008; Zuffa's lawsuit against the State of New York, citing Constitutional violations, was filed in November, 2011.

Notwithstanding whether a settlement is reached, the door is now open for Zuffa – or any other MMA promotion – to circumvent the ban by utilizing one of the pre-approved sanctioning bodies enumerated in the statute. Those sanctioning bodies include the World Karate Association (since renamed the World Kickboxing Association, a.k.a. the "WKA"), the Professional Karate Association and the U.S. Judo Association, among others.

Only a few of the organizations listed are currently still active, and while the WKA has been responsible for sanctioning professional kickboxing events in New York for years, a recent letter sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo by the Association of Boxing Commissions blasted the state for placing sanctioning responsibility in the hands of organizations who have "failed to meet the health and safety standards that the Association believes are necessary." Regardless, under the 1997 law and by the Attorney General's own admission, sanctioning by a third-party organization is a viable way around the ban. In addition, as long as the law remains on the books, the New York State Athletic Commission has no regulatory authority over MMA and would therefore have no oversight over such events.

"We'll take it," said UFC in-house counsel Timothy Bellamy, who was present at today's proceedings. "We'd rather have the state lift the ban and we go that route first, but we'll know in the next two months if that's going to happen." If it doesn't, said Bellamy, then the UFC would use the third-party-sanctioning option.

In January, UFC president Dana White promised a UFC at Madison Square Garden this coming November. It seems that event may now very well happen.

For those that have never been to Madison Square Garden, have no fear about getting a seat because there are a mind-bending 22,300 seats available when the arena is set up for a boxing or pro-wrestling match, which means you’ll probably be able to get a seat as long as you’re not the 22,301st person to try purchasing a ticket. We know you’re better than that. On a more serious note, there’s still no guarantee that MMA will be legalized this year, although people are still hopeful the state will agree to regulate it, but according to this lawsuit victory, it wouldn’t matter. In fact, the only part of the lawsuit that remains unclear is whether or not elbows will be allowed – they are still universally illegal throughout all combat sports in New York, even in sports like Muay Thai. Time will tell if the rules will be modified, or if a third party will choose to ignore those regulations. Either way, we’re happy the UFC has found a legal loophole to bring MMA to some loyal fans who have waited far too long for their first local event.