Thursday, May 28, 2015

A Wacky Anti-MMA Editorial and a Response

NEW YORK


It's crunch time for the legislative session and the prospects of getting the MMA bill passed, so all the anti-UFC lobbyists are coming out of the woodwork to earn their paychecks. The latest: an editorial in today's Albany Times-Union, which is an influential paper that serves the Capitol region.

The gist of the piece is that the sport is too violent and not worth the money it would bring in, but there are some glaring errors in the logic. Consider this excerpt:

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Neal Kwatra: The Face of the Culinary Union's Anti-UFC Battle

NEW YORK


(Neal Kwatra, left, represents the Culinary Union's anti-UFC interests in New York.)
This morning the Albany Times-Union posted an update on where things stand with getting the MMA bill passed in the Assembly. The focus of the story was the UFC's strategy of robo-calling constituents in the dozen districts still in play, and the reporter included this passage:

Saturday, May 23, 2015

The FightNerd Is Doing a Film on Female Muay Thai Fighters - You Should Help

AWESOME




The Fight Nerd has long been a fixture in the New York fight scene, and his current project revolves around a documentary about female Muay Thai fighters. The clip above is the teaser trailer, the IndieGoGo pitch is here. Read it and consider helping. Sometimes the best part of a fight is the story behind it, and the Fight Nerd tells a good story.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Senator Krueger is Talking Money When She Should Be Talking Safety

NEW YORK


Senator Liz Krueger is against the Ultimate Fight Championship coming to New York, and to combat the argument that sanctioned mixed martial arts would bolster the state's economy, she says that maybe the biggest MMA organization in the world isn't as financially sound as it claims to be.

Senator Krueger is talking money when she should be talking safety.

MMA Bill Close But Still Not Quite There

NEW YORK


A02604 - the Assembly bill that would make pro MMA legal in New York - is still just a few votes shy of the 76-vote minimum required for it to move to the floor. In other words, we're are damn close, and counting today there are only 15 session days left on the calendar.

Friday, May 15, 2015

The System May Be Imperfect, But Some Things Do Go Right

NEW YORK


On Wednesday I wrote about how New York's lack of statutory regulation of amateur MMA was putting the health and safety of fighters in jeopardy, and I used the case of Noah Hughes - a fighter from upstate who was booking fights despite being badly TKO'd just a couple weeks ago - as an example. However, it's worth noting that though there are no minimum safety standards and procedures that must be met when it comes to cagefighting in New York, some strive to do the right thing. They deserve credit where credit is due.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The Biggest Problem With No Amateur Regulation in New York: Dead Fighters

NEW YORK


(Noah Hughes after his May 2 fight. Photo courtesy of Zack Lynch/MMAPhotography.)
Usually, when a fighter suffers a KO or TKO, he gets a suspension that prevents him from fighting again with injuries that need more time to heal. But that's not the case in New York, where there is no statutory regulation of amateur MMA, so fighters can climb right back onto the horse that bucked them off while still feeling the effects of a fractured orbital bone or concussion.

Battle of the Millennium Poster

NEW YORK



Monday, May 4, 2015

Victory IX Poster

NEW YORK



New York's Battle Unseen

NEW YORK


Last week the New York State Assembly's Democrats met in a closed-door conference to chew over the topic of legalizing mixed martial arts, and after 90 minutes, no decision was reached. But while the discussion was tabled for a later date, the battle - unseen, and conducted via email, phone and face-to-face meetings - has continued to rage.