Re: UFC to petition New York State for MMA sanctioning in press conference today 2pm DFW is expected to announce his intention to bring the UFC to New York State at the presser, putting pressure on new Governor Andrew Cuomo to reverse the stance the New York State Athletic Commission has taken against sanctioning MMA. The NYSAC currently oversees boxing and professional wrestling in the state but is not yet set up to handle MMA. Though the UFC is intent on holding an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, sanctioning will open up the entire state to amateur and professional MMA, including regional shows and events in smaller cities and venues.
Re: UFC to petition New York State for MMA sanctioning in press conference today 2pm The presser just concluded. It was very brief and there weren't really any surprises: MSG is on board with hosting an event and they will speak in favour of sanctioning MMA if invited to the State Assembly to do so. They (Dana, Lorenzo, & Co.) mentioned that sanctioning the sport in the state won't just benefit NYC but other cities and communities as well with both UFC and regional shows taking place across the state. In an economic impact report the UFC presented they estimate revenue for the state in the tens of millions should NYS become a regular destination for the UFC and other MMA events. The UFC estimated roughly 70 local and regional shows in the state per annum. Finally the UFC and their reps, with the support of some politicians, have put the sanctioning issue forward to the Governor of the state for inclusion in the upcoming budget, which is where the issue stands at the moment.
Re: UFC to petition New York State for MMA sanctioning in press conference today 2pm If you want to get a sense of why there hasn't been sanctioning in the state yet, skip to about 4/5ths into the presser and listen for a female reporter stammer her way through a hopeless question regarding the safety of the sport. I don't know who she was there representing but she seemingly had no idea what UFC or MMA was and was amazed at the notion of 'punching and kicking' as part of a sport. DFW likes to repeat that sanctioning is 'an education process' and with some people (especially Assemblymen and longtime UFC adversary Bob O'Reilly) that is very much the case.
