http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/06/...yed/#more-3530
FiveOuncesOfPain.com was informed by an anonymous source earlier this afternoon that the committee for Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development of New York held a vote on Wednesday to decide whether the state should regulate Mixed Martial Arts.
According to the source, the bill was voted down in overwhelming fashion.
An anonymous member of a major state athletic commission confirmed the information that was provided to Five Ounces Of Pain by our initial source.
This web site has also learned that the possible legalization of Mixed Martial Arts in the state of New York was the planned announcement that UFC president Dana White had hinted at during an interview that was published on ESPN.com last week.
According to a source, White was confident that the vote was going to pass and believed he had assurances that the proposed bill would be approved by the committee for Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development of New York. However, the proposal was unexpectedly voted down for reasons that are not yet clear. In a strange turn of events, it is believed that the chair of the committee, Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who introduced the proposal, ended up voting against it.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported earlier that White’s major announcement, which had been planned for Thursday, had been moved to Tuesday. According to a third anonymous source, the vote for the MMA bill was conducted towards the tail end of session earlier today.
The bill was not passed in large part because of opposition from both sides. However, according to our source, a republican committee member “picked up the bill” and applied pressure after the session to have the vote passed. In another unusual development, several committee members, primarily republican but also a few democrat, attempted to change their vote.
Because of the attempt to change votes, it was decided that the bill will be placed on the agenda again early next week. Such a decision to put a bill back on the agenda so quickly after it had been voted down was described as “highly irregular.”
As it stands, it’s still possible that White will be able to make his huge announcement as planned on Tuesday as there has been a major swing in support for the bill.
What the big announcement is suppose to be
. But, would it be the first thing you show someone new to the sport? Perhaps someone a little older?
Linear Mode
