UFC co-Chair & CEO Lorenzo Fertitta on Thursday announced that the MMA outfit "will hold its first New York fight Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden," according to Matthew Hamilton of the Albany TIMES UNION. Fertitta also "pledged to hold a fight upstate by the end of the year, though an arena, date and time have yet to be finalized." UFC also "has pledged to hold four fights per year in New York over the first three years it is able to do so," excluding '16. Fighter Ronda Rousey was among those who "lobbied for the MMA legislation." She said fighting at MSG is "the pinnacle for professional sports." The pledges by UFC come after New York on Thursday lifted "the ban that was put in place" in '97 against professional fighting in the state. New York is the "last state in the nation ... to have in place prohibitions on professional MMA fights." The state's Athletic Commission will have 120 days to "promulgate regulations for the sport." After that time, the "first fight can be held." The law "expands the size of that commission by two members" (Albany TIMES UNION, 4/15). FOX SPORTS' Jonathan Bradley noted UFC plans to "launch a huge event at Madison Square Garden with a card that will likely rival UFC 200 in terms of star power and magnitude" (FOXSPORTS.com, 4/14). MMA fighter Chris Weidman said, "I always thought it was going to happen way earlier. But every year, it was nope, nope, nope. I got to a point where I thought it was never going to happen." On Long Island, Ryan Gerbosi notes Weidman made "numerous trips to Albany and other cities to lobby state legislators the past few years." Weidman: "You talked to all the senators and assemblymen and there was a lot of support. You would always think it would pass, but then it never would" (NEWSDAY, 4/15).
