Yahoo Sports UFC Schedules Madison Square Garden Event for April 2016
Year after year, despite continuously growing support from fans and elected officials, the New York State Assembly continues to let mixed martial arts legislation fall by the wayside, effectively blocking the UFC from scheduling an event in the last state in the union to not regulate MMA.
State assembly be damned, the UFC has changed its tack, and on Monday announced that it had scheduled an event in New York regardless of the state's failure to pass regulatory guidelines. The move appears to be the first step in a new approach to gaining MMA legalization in New York.
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“UFC today announced a series of important steps to bring mixed martial arts (MMA) events to New York. These efforts include the scheduling of the organization’s first, professional MMA event in New York since the state’s ban in 1997. This event will take place at Madison Square Garden on April 23, 2016, featuring UFC’s top champions competing with other world-class athletes inside the Octagon. UFC is also taking additional steps through the federal courts to ensure the event’s success,” UFC officials informed MMAWeekly.com on Monday.
The UFC had reserved dates at Madison Square Garden for UFC 194 in December, but this is the first time that the promotion has decided not to wait for the State Legislature to act and publicly announced a scheduled event in New York.
“We believe fight fans have waited long enough to experience live UFC events in the state of New York and we are thrilled to announce our first event at Madison Square Garden,” UFC Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein said. “Professional MMA is legal around of the world and it is about time New York followed suit.”
A bill to provide for professional mixed martial arts regulation in New York has passed the Senate and made it to the State Assembly six times over recent years, only to die on the vine without a vote on the Assembly floor. Most believe that such a vote would overwhelmingly approve the measure.
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Aside from ongoing educational and lobbying efforts to get enough support to ensure passage of MMA regulatory guidelines in the state, the UFC has also been fighting in the courts.
In August, the UFC filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over New York – stating that New York’s prohibition of regulated professional MMA events violates the First Amendment rights of athletes and fans throughout the state.
On Monday, the UFC filed a new case in federal court, reiterating its claim that the New York law banning MMA events is unconstitutional.
“This out-of-date law is too unclear for the public to understand, and has allowed regulators in New York to pick and choose arbitrarily what events they will permit. Events featuring every combat sport except MMA seem to be allowed in New York, though this is not explicitly stated in the law,” the UFC said in a prepared statement. “The statute, and the state’s pattern of enforcing it, violates the Constitution’s prohibition on unconstitutionally vague laws.”
The UFC's statement released to MMAWeekly.com indicated that scheduling an event for April 23 is just one of the first steps. Later this week, the UFC will ask a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against New York state officials enforcing its unconstitutional law. Without such an injunction, the event at Madison Square Garden would not be able to proceed.
