UFC's Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta Make Another Push for New York

Since UFC's start, it has struggled to be sanctioned and receive social acceptance.

Its struggle for social acceptance is well-documented and has been well-criticized. The thought that the sport is "barbaric", or in Arizona Senior Senator John McCain's terms, "human cockfighting" has been well-publicized.

MMA has still yet to be sanctioned in all 50 states and now is making yet another push for the state of New York. 

On Thursday UFC President Dana White and Chairman/CEO Lorenzo Fertitta once again lobbied New York representatives at Madison Square Garden.

Now, the UFC, and the world of MMA, play the waiting game. White and Fertitta now have on their side the President of Madison Square Garden sports Scott O'Neil and New York State Assemblyman Dean Murray, who has already begun conversations with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

In addition to the conversation, Assemblyman Murray has pushed and lobbied for MMA legislation in the state of New York.

Having MMA in the state of New York would be great as a huge New York population supports the sport. It's no surprise that MMA is undergoing such a fast growth in the United States with quick knockouts, bone-crushing punches and great technical moves. People are starting to realize that there is more to mixed martial arts then beating the living daylights out of your opponent.

New York's support for MMA is huge and, according to numbers from the last UFC fight held in Newark, New Jersey, immensely popular. 

UFC 111 (held at the Prudential Center in Newark), which featured a title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Dan Hardy, sold 17,000 tickets according to Dana White. Out of those 17,000 tickets, 30 percent were sold to fans from New York, again according to Dana White.

New York should buckle and sanction MMA as a sport. It's no more lethal then boxing and, in my opinion, a ton more interesting to watch (I love boxing too, don't get me wrong).

Just imagine the first MMA card in New York, which would most likely be held by the UFC, featuring a big title bout. That would sell tons of tickets, especially if it was at Madison Square Garden, and be such a high grossing event.

In fact, at the meeting in MSG, White released findings on the economic impact of legalizing MMA in the state of New York. According to the report, MMA would bring in $23 million with the smaller promotions injecting $seven million (from 70 events) and the UFC (holding two events in New York) would bring in the other $16 million.

Included in the meeting was current UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, who is a New Jersey native.

“I can’t wait until I get to fight here. I’ve always been a New York sports fan. Being from New Jersey, I always wanted to fight at the Garden. Fighting in Jersey is great, but there is nothing like fighting here,” said Edgar.

New York needs to sanction MMA; it's time to move forward. The UFC and MMA in general have progressed a lot since its days of being socially unacceptable. There is no reason not to anymore.

Surprisingly enough, White isn't even frustrated from the long monotonous process of legalizing the sport in New York.

“To be honest, I’m not frustrated. I’m a little baffled. It’s an education process. I feel we have a good team here in New York and we’re going to get this thing done. The process is the same everywhere we go.

"Our job is to educate these guys on who really are and what this sport is. We got Ontario done, and I’m confident we’ll get New York done, too.” said White.

Well, we're behind you Dana. Get New York to sanction the sport and hold one crazy event. New York is ready to go.