MMA in New York State? Gov. Cuomo Makes It Official

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation legalizing Mixed Martial Arts in New York. It's been a long road for this sport, as it faced heavy opposition due to concerns about safety and regulation standards.

The planning has already begun, the first MMA fight in New York will be held at Madison Square Garden. The UFC announced it will host a pay-per-view event on November 12. The second event will be somewhere upstate before the end of the year. The UFC didn't say where, but it did list Albany as a possibility. 

Former MMA athlete and teacher Ron McEvilly says the first upstate fight should happen near the place where the fight to legalize it took place.  

"I hope they have it right here as close to the capital as possible," said McEvilly. "My biggest fight here in Albany at the capital was for the safety of the competitors and athletes." 

Some of those safety measures included in the bill are insurance policies for injured fighters, a death benefit, and a directive for the Department of Health to study the effects MMA has on the brain. McEvilly says this is a big step toward making sure the fighters who are still learning don't get hurt. 

"The amateurs are the most important, because without the amateurs, you don't have pro; it's pretty common sense in a lot of ways, you know," McEvilly said.

Governor Cuomo signed the bill in New York City inside the Madison Square Garden Thursday morning. He said not only does the sport become safer with regulations, but he says the economic boost will be $137 million a year. 

"So this is going to be a great economic engine for New York, not just downstate, not just for the Garden but also in Upstate New York," he said.  

He says half of that economic boost will go to upstate. As far as how that's spread out from Albany to Buffalo -- it's still a waiting game to find out where the fights will take place. 

The New York State Athletic Commission now has 120 days to set forth rules and regulations for the sport. The UFC has pledged to hold 4 events every year for the first 3 years in New York.