Check Out This New York Fight Exchange Coverage

NEW YORK

The New York Fight Exchange had their seventh installment on Saturday night, and though I missed the event, there is some coverage of it to be had courtesy of Combat Sports Nation. Some things worth noting about NYFE 7:

The MMA Bill Has Been Revamped - Here's What's New

NEW YORK

Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle said there would be changes coming to the MMA bill, and he wasn't kidding. A new, revamped version of A02604 was unveiled today, and it is an expansive piece of legislation pretty much unrecognizable from previous versions. Will these changes be enough to sway some of the undecideds within the Assembly before the end of the session on June 17? Possibly, and with the Senate expected to adopt these changes to their version of the bill, we will likely soon see a radically different combative sports landscape in New York.

Here are the more salient points of the new bill:

The New York MMA Bill Might Be Undergoing Some Dramatic Changes

NEW YORK

There are seven working days left in the 2015 legislative session and the MMA bill still needs six more votes to pass, and with the sands in the hourglass running out, Majority Leader Joe Morelle - the man in charge of getting it done - might be adding some provisions to the bill to win over some of the undecideds. What's he going to add and how will it affect things when the bill is signed into law? Well, no text of the changes to the bill (designated A02604) is available yet, but this is what we know:

New York Fight Exchange 7 Fight Card

NEW YORK

The Session is Almost Over - Why Hasn't the MMA Bill Passed Yet?

NEW YORK

The 2015 legislative session ends on June 17, which means there are only nine work days left for the Assembly to pass the MMA bill. Yes, there's still time to get it done, but it was't supposed to be this hard. After all, Sheldon Silver's arrest and subsequent abdication of the Speaker throne - and his replacement by MMA supporter Carl Heastie - should have cleared all Culinary Union obstacles and paved the way for the bill's easy passage. That hasn't happened, though. Why not?

Grapplers Seize the Day at Aggressive Combat Championships 11

NEW YORK

Sometimes drive and determination are the difference between winning and losing in a fight. Sometimes its the skills brought into the cage. At Aggressive Combat Championships 11, which broke ground at the Queens Theater in Flushing Meadows Park on Saturday night, those who came out on top possessed just the right mix of drive, determination and skills - and in the case of lightweight and flyweight studs James Gonzalez and Pedro Villa, that meant going home with shiny new belts.

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:

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:

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.

Extreme Cage Fighting 6 Poster

NEW YORK

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.

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.

Ring of Combat 51 Poster

NEW JERSEY

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

Why You Should Care About CFFC 48 This Weekend

NEW JERSEY

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.

Meanwhile, In a Parking Lot in the Bronx...

NEW YORK

By @bxhova357 via @RepostWhiz app: TURN IT UP!!!! #BXFIGHTCLUB WE COMING HEAVY THIS SUMMER!!! Performances from your favorite artists good fucking fights great hosts and every event will be celebrity studded! #concerts #fights #celebrity's #BXFIGHTCLUB WE AINT PLAYING THIS SUMMER THE GAMES ARE OVER!!! (#RepostWhiz app)

A video posted by BxFightClub@gmail.com (@bxfightclub) on Apr 27, 2015 at 5:15pm PDT