MMA backers rally at Capitol to legalize sport

UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman poses for photos with fans at a rally pushing for the legalization of mixed martial arts Tuesday morning at the state Capitol in Albany.

Chris Weidman was at the state Capitol in Albany Tuesday morning to stand by lawmakers pushing for the legalization of mixed martial arts in the state, but the UFC middleweight champion spent most of his time signing autographs and taking photos with fans.

Since he can’t fight in New York, it was a rare chance for many of them to get close.

“This is going to be the last time that we come here to lobby for MMA,” Weidman said when the news cameras turned to him. “Next time we’ll be actually fighting here.”

Weidman, a Long Island native, was joined by UFC Executive Lawrence Epstein, on his eighth trip to Albany lobbying for the sport, as well as pro-MMA lawmakers, who see the governor’s inclusion of legalization in his budget proposal earlier this month as a sign that the state is finally ready to make it happen.

The state Senate has passed a bill legalizing and regulating the sport for the past six years, said Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome. A similar bill in the Assembly was gathering support last year when the session ended before it could make it to the floor.

“We’re working very hard,” said Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle. “We have a significant degree of support in our house and hopefully that will translate to a vote on the floor.”

The governor’s budget proposal calls for the sport to be regulated by the state Athletic Commission, with “firm controls” to protect fighters and fans. If the proposal remains in the final version of the budget, slated for adoption by April 1, the proposal will become law.

According to Morelle, it’s possible that it could come to a vote in the Assembly before then.

“We’re getting very close,” he said. “My goal is to make sure that this is bulletproof when I get it on the floor, if I’m lucky enough to do that.”

Morelle said the bill has been expanded to cover all combative sports, from boxing to professional karate and MMA, and “would be the safest series of regulations anywhere in the country.”

He and other supporters, like Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, say they’re continuing to bring more lawmakers behind the bill, combating the stigma that the sport is more dangerous than things like boxing or football.

They’re also touting the economic benefits of bringing professional MMA to the state, with an estimated annual revenue of up to $67 million in tourist dollars, drawing comparisons to the recent legalization of casino gambling.

“We know this would be a significant draw and a big part of a growing entertainment economy,” Morelle said. “This is a sport that’s growing faster than any other sport in America and to not have it regulated in New York, to not have professional bouts in New York, is a missed opportunity for literally millions of people in New York who tune in on their television sets or go other places to watch this.”

Epstein said UFC had tentatively scheduled a fight for late April at Madison Square Garden, hoping for legalization early this year, but is now looking to hold the state’s first fight in the fourth quarter of this year.

Santabarbara wants the first upstate fight to be held in Schenectady, where an amateur event last September drew more than 1,000 fans.

New York is the only state left in the country that has not legalized MMA. Amateur fights are legal in the state, but they are not regulated.

“I’ve been fighting for seven years now, and every fight has had to be out of New York,” Weidman said. “So to be able to fight here in New York would be a dream come true.”