Philippe Nover's Blast From the Past

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From Philippe Nover's Facebook:

My first professional MMA fight happened on July 19th, 2003 for Reality Fighting 4 in Asbury Park NJ. I fought at 185 lb against UFC middleweight Ron Stallings. It's been long time!

Other names on the card: My boy @jayhieron & NFL insider / UFC on Fox host @JayGlazer.

Night of Terror Poster

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Speaker Heastie Knows MMA Fight Will Continue - But When?

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Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie may have let the MMA bill die in the waning days of the 2015 legislative session, but the fight for sanctioned combative sports in New York will continue - a fact that he publicly acknowledged this week. While talking with the press during his tour of the upstate region, Speaker Heastie said, “I think it’s very close to having the support in the Assembly, but I think it will be a big topic once we get back to Albany."

Given how contentious the issue has been over the years, and how hot the discussion on it was this year, that is stating the obvious. However, what's not so obvious is the "when" of the whole equation. Since the MMA bill had finally received the necessary Democratic conference votes needed to pass, and those votes will likely be there when the 2016 session begins in January, there is nothing preventing the much-needed piece of legislation from seeing action right at the outset. All the heavy lifting is already done.

Once More Unto the Breach With Zuffa's New York Lawsuit

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Get ready for the next round in the saga of the UFC's lawsuit against the State of New York, because an appeal has officially been filed.

When last we left the UFC's lawsuit, it was dismissed by Federal District Court Judge Kimba Wood on the grounds that Zuffa lacked standing. It was Judge Wood's view that because there was never actually a UFC event that was shut down by New York's 1997 Combative Sports Law banning pro MMA events, the UFC was out of luck when it came to being able to take the State Attorney General to court over the matter.

But, as is often the case when a party has the deep pockets to match its desire, the fight isn't over. On Tuesday, attorneys representing Zuffa filed an appellate brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It's important to note that the Court of Appeals doesn't hear issues of fact, only issues of law, which means that all the facts that came out in the trial phase via discovery will be the only facts of the case going forward. There will be no more evidence gathered, no more witnesses called and no more testimony. The Court of Appeals only cares if the law as interpreted by Judge Wood was interpreted correctly.

It's Zuffa's argument that it wasn't, and the Court of Appeals should either answer the Constitutionality questions about the Combative Sports Law itself, or kick it back down to the District Court and make them re-examine the case.

Here are the most salient points of the appellate brief:

Baffling New York Corruption Case Is Baffling

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Yesterday a politician in New York plead guilty to corruption charges. This is nothing shocking - it is New York, after all. But what's completely and utterly baffling about it is who the politician was, and what the charges were over.

Here name is Melinda Wormuth, and she was the Town Supervisor for Halfmoon, a town outside of Schenectady (which isn't far from Albany). The FBI got her to accept money in exchange for favors in a sting. The pretense of the sting? Mixed martial arts.

Must-Read Article on the Cage Fury Fighting Championships

NEW JERSEY

The Press of Atlantic City has cast its gaze upon the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, and the resulting article paints a pretty in-depth picture on the origins of the New Jersey-based promotion and how far it's come today. The link is here. It's well worth the read.

New York Amateur MMA Fighter Beats Up Cop, Doesn't Like Jail

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Just because you're trained to beat up people doesn't mean you actually should. Such is the case with New York-based amateur MMA fighter James Hilton, who's now in jail for beating up a cop in Schenectady over the weekend.

Here's the Albany Times-Union with the details:

The Perils of Going to Jones Beach, MMA Edition

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Ask any New Yorker and they'll tell you: There are some really good beaches in the state, but of them all, Jones Beach is total butt.

Unlike Fire Island, which you must travel by ferry to get to (thereby making it more exclusive), and the Hamptons, which are so snooty even the sharks wear polo shirts, Jones Beach is the Mos Eisley Spaceport of beaches. It's where the dregs of society go to drink and throw up - and if you're a UFC fighter, it's where you're assailed by yahoos keen on testing your wrestling.

Combat at the Capitale Poster

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Trinity 4 Poster

NEW JERSEY

Ring of Combat/Dead Serious 21 Poster

NEW JERSEY

It Was a Good Week for New York Fighters

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(Yeah, I know Jimmie Rivera lives in New Jersey, but he teaches in New York. Pic courtesy of the UFC's Instagram.)

There was a ton of MMA this week, what with two UFCs, a Titan FC on Fight Pass and a Cage Fury Fighting Championship event in Atlantic City, N.J. For the discerning fan of good scraps, there was a lot to be happy about - and even more so if you were from New York. That's right, New York repped hard. Here's a list of who kicked some ass:

New York Amateur MMA Champ Set to Make Pro Debut

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Cage Fury Fighting Championships 50 is tomorrow in Atlantic City, N.J., and while there are a number of fighters of note competing on the card - like TUF vet Tim Williams, Garden State staple Lester Caslow and rising female scrapper Jenna Serio - one competitor worth keeping an eye on is Jungle Gym standout Paul Grant.

Friday Night Fights Poster

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New York MMA Bill Could Pass As Early As January

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Last week I laid out a timetable on getting the New York MMA bill passed in 2016, and it presupposed that the issue would get addressed after the budget gets done in April. But it seems it could get done sooner.

"There is no reason why the Legislature can’t pass the bill in January or February," says David Weinraub, a lobbyist for the UFC.

Although more contentious issues get handled after the budget, legislation does get passed early on, and working in the MMA bill's favor is the fact that it had more the necessary Democratic "yes" votes needed to trigger a trip to the floor by the time the end of the 2015 session rolled around.

Obviously, this means nothing in regards to getting a UFC into Madison Square Garden this year, but getting the bill passed in January is a lot better than getting the bill passed in June.

A lot better.

Fighters Source Returns With an International Tournament

AWESOME

The above memo says it all: Fighters Source, the International Fight League of amateur MMA, is returning this summer for a tournament that will cull the best amateur fighters in the US and pit them against a team from Brazil in the spring. Since their last tournament was pretty damn awesome, I expect this one to be a killer.

A Simple Plan to Get the New York MMA Bill Passed in 2016

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Sheldon Silver arrested. Carl Heastie, an MMA supporter in the past, named as the new Assembly Speaker. A revamped MMA bill. More Assembly members on board than ever before. All of these things really made it seem like 2015 was going to be the year that New York State lifted its statutory ban on sanctioned mixed martial arts. But alas, it was not to be, and once more the fight will continue on for another year.

This time things will be different though. Because the one good thing about getting your butt kicked round after round is what it teaches you, and years of getting frozen out of the Democratic conference, killed in committees and suffocated by the process have finally taught us how to win. We just need a plan.

And here it is.

Tracking the Elusive BX Fight Club

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A few months back, the Bronx-based underground boxing promotion was canceled at the last minute when the police showed up. The authorities were looking for guest rapper DMX, who had allegedly robbed someone the night before, but the end result was the same: Like a ninja in the night, BX Fight Club disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing only when and where they're least expected.

Seriously, it is pretty much impossible to track where these guys are going to do a show next.

New York Fight Exchange 8 Poster

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The 2015 New York MMA Bill - What Went Wrong, What Went Right

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It's over. Once again, the bill that would have empowered the New York State Athletic Commission to start sanctioning MMA died in the icy tomb known as the State Assembly. This year was supposed to be different, though. Sheldon Silver got the boot as Speaker, and his replacement - Assemblyman Carl Heastie - was someone who'd supported the sport in the past. Plus, we got a revamped version of the bill that touched on and addressed all concerns.

2015 was supposed to be there year.

So what happened? What went wrong? And, more importantly, what went right? Here's a breakdown: