Tuesday, December 1, 2009

December Calendar

December is shaping up to be a busy month for New York MMA fans.  There are two underground shows slated - one of them Pankration, the other MMA - for upcoming weekends.  There's also an Asylum Fight League scheduled for December 11th in Raritan, New Jersey, with Underground Combat League veteran James Funaro taking on Team Tiger Schulmann instructor Mike Fischetti.  Oh, and remember that bill to legalize MMA in New York that came really, really close to passing this year?  Well, the whole process will soon start all over again, and if you want to cheer bill sponsor Assemblyman Steve Englebright on or give him words of encouragement (or give him offerings of gold, women and wine), he'll be at a public hearing on December 9th in downtown Manhattan.  Athletic Commission programs will be discussed, so if you wear your TapOut shirt and Sprawl shorts, you will be relevant.

Do You Hear That Sound? That's the Sound of Scores of Massachusetts Promoters Crying Out

Massachusetts hopped on board the MMA train today, with the state's governor signing a bill calling for the Massachusetts Boxing Commission to start sanctioning MMA bouts.  That's great news if you're the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce or any of the other "big boys" interested in doing a show in Boston.  But if you're a small, local promoter putting together a pro/am card featuring anyone and everyone, that news is bad.  You see, at one time the Commission was in charge of MMA events, but then the state backed off and went into laissez-faire mode, so for years the place has been a great, unregulated oasis for promoters to go wild.  Now, however, that all changes.  With the new law, gone are the days of a fighter competing while suspended in other jurisdictions, gone are the days of wacky matchmaking, and gone are the days of self-regulation.  It's rules and red tape from here on out.  Which isn't a bad thing, of course - unless you've been making a buck as a promoter doing whatever the hell you damn well please.