Monday, May 7, 2012

NYS Says No Sanctioned MMA in 2012 - So What!

For about half an hour today the Twitterverse was a-twitter (heh) over the sudden and unexpected Democratic pow-wow called in Albany to discuss the future of the 2012 MMA bill.  And then, as usual, hopes were dashed.  Here's the New York Daily News and the Albany Times-Union rapping about how Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver called for an informal vote, and after 25 said "nay" and 60 said "yay", declared that the bill didn't have enough support.  Okay, whatever.  There may not be any UFCs or ROCs or Strikeforces or Bellators coming to NYC anytime soon, but there's a freakin' buttload of MMA going down anyway.  For example, there was a UCL the weekend before last, and they've been coming at a rate of about one every two to three months.  There's also a ManupStandup coming in August (if you like your unsanctioned fights with a heavy kung fu flavor), plus there's sanctioned amateur MMA upstate - and it's only a matter of time until that trickles down here.  Sure, a huge event in Madison Square Garden or at the Beacon Theater or at the Barclay's Center would be nice, but if you ask me, the best MMA shows are the kind where you are no more than six inches from the combatants, and that pretty much describes the standard fare at a UCL.  Albany not keen on sanctioned MMA this year?  I say, so what!