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MMA Bill in New York Does Not Go to Vote in State Assembly

Sadly for fight fans in New York, it will be at least another year until professional mixed marital arts is finally legalized in the state.Newsday reported on Tuesday that the bill to sanction professional MMA in New York would, for the fourth year str…

Sadly for fight fans in New York, it will be at least another year until professional mixed marital arts is finally legalized in the state.

Newsday reported on Tuesday that the bill to sanction professional MMA in New York would, for the fourth year straight, not be going to the State Assembly floor for a full vote.

According to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a noted opponent of the bill, the decision to exclude the bill from the current legislative session’s agenda was made after a meeting of the Democratic Conference on Tuesday night.

“The conference has asked not to put it on the agenda,” Silver revealed to reporters at the state’s capital.

In March, the New York State Senate once again approved the bill to legalize and regulate the sport, passing by its widest margin ever. However, it failed to gain support in the Assembly, despite having 64 sponsors.

“We also feel bad for New York’s arenas—large and small, particularly those upstate—that are struggling and have worked alongside us to pass the legislation,” UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta said in a statement. “I guess New York’s loss will continue to be New Jersey’s, Massachusetts’, Pennsylvania’s and Toronto’s gain.”

Earlier this month, both the state of Connecticut and the entire country of Canada lifted their bans on the sport, making New York the last place in North America where professional MMA is illegal.

Connecticut’s state Senate voted 26-9 in favor of regulating the sport while Canada’s House of Commons voted overwhelmingly for a provision that would legalize MMA under the country’s criminal code.

New York remains the last hold out on the continent mostly due to opposition from several women’s groups who claim that MMA is misogynistic as well as the Culinary Union of Las Vegas, whose long-standing feud with the Fertitta brothers over their labor practices has halted any progress within the state for the sport.

“This year’s new, absurd, offensive and completely erroneous charge used to justify the defeat of MMA legislation was that MMA is anti-woman and leads to domestic violence,” Fertitta said. “This is a deception fabricated by a Las Vegas union that is recklessly and callously trying to use an important societal issue to try and punish the UFC. It isn’t honest and doesn’t work.”

For the sake of New York fight fans, I hope that 2014 will be the year that officials will finally drop the politics and bring MMA to the Empire State.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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UFC 163: Bad Luck and Lack of Patience Costing Anthony Pettis Title Shots

When it comes to UFC title shots, Anthony Pettis just can’t seem to catch a break.The WEC’s last lightweight champion was slated to face featherweight king Jose Aldo later this summer before a knee injury forced “Showtime” out of the scheduled UFC 163 …

When it comes to UFC title shots, Anthony Pettis just can’t seem to catch a break.

The WEC‘s last lightweight champion was slated to face featherweight king Jose Aldo later this summer before a knee injury forced “Showtime” out of the scheduled UFC 163 main event bout.

Losing out at a chance at UFC gold would be devastating to any fighter, but it’s an especially hard pill to swallow for Pettis considering his previous issues with securing a shot at the lightweight strap.

While injuries and bad luck certainly deserve most of the blame, Pettis‘ lack of patience has also played a major role in his recent title shot struggles.

Regardless of whether he deserved the shot or not, “Showtime” took a huge risk by accepting this superfight with Aldo. Not only was he making a date with one of the best fighters in MMA today, a dangerous task in and of itself, but Pettis was also betting all of his chips on just this one bout.

If he had beaten Aldo, Pettis would likely have been forced to defend the featherweight title and stay at 145, a move that could come with consequences for his body since he has never had to stay at that weight before.

And if “Showtime” lost, then it would have been back to square one all over again.

But Pettis also had a third option—wait for a shot at the lightweight belt.

At the time, the former WEC champ was already being considered to face the winner of the Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez bout at UFC on Fox 7, but ultimately decided not to wait in order to challenge Aldo.

Now, that honor will go to TJ Grant, whom Pettis has no right to ask to replace, by the way, since he basically gave that title shot away.

In hindsight, it was a huge mistake by Pettis.

If he had just waited, not only would he have received a much-anticipated rematch with Henderson, but he would have also gotten a shot at the lightweight strap in his hometown of Milwaukee. “Showtime” vs. “Smooth” 2 would have been a huge seller and, in all likelihood, would have probably been a better matchup for Pettis.

And while I understand that “Showtime” didn’t want to go through another lengthy wait like his first attempt at the 155-pound belt, the two title shots weren’t even that far apart in dates; UFC 163 and UFC 164 are both happening in August.

Now that he’s injured, he’ll have to wait even longer for a chance at either weight class belt.

Even going back to 2011 during his first potential shot at UFC gold, Pettis opted to face Guida instead of waiting for then-champ Frankie Edgar to end his series with rival Gray Maynard.

Granted, it was a bit of a longer stint than this time around, but why not wait for the sure thing?

Barring any injuries, next time he’s offered a shot at a title, I hope Pettis goes for the safer option instead of the quick shot at glory.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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Conor McGregor vs. Andy Ogle Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Rising prospects Conor McGregor and Andy Ogle will bring the long and storied Ireland vs. the United Kingdom rivalry stateside when the two featherweights face off in Boston this August.While their nations’ prides will definitely be on the line, the pa…

Rising prospects Conor McGregor and Andy Ogle will bring the long and storied Ireland vs. the United Kingdom rivalry stateside when the two featherweights face off in Boston this August.

While their nations’ prides will definitely be on the line, the pair of up-and-comers will also look to solidify their standings in the 145-pound division when they square off at the UFC’s first event on Fox Sports 1.

In his UFC debut this past April, Irishman McGregor had the MMA world buzzing with his brutal first-round finish of Marcus Brimage at UFC on Fuel 7. “Notorious” will look to continue his rapid rise when he makes his U.S. debut opposite Ogle, who enters this fight following a decision win over Josh Grispi in February, the The Ultimate Fighter alum’s first win with the promotion.

As two of Europe’s finest prepare for their summer showdown at the TD Garden, let’s take a look at how this bout breaks down.

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Evans vs. Henderson Fight Card: What a Win Means for Rashad Evans

Despite being nicknamed “Suga,” things haven’t been going so sweet for UFC light heavyweight Rashad Evans.After stringing together an impressive four-fight win streak following his brutal title loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98, the former champ has look…

Despite being nicknamed “Suga,” things haven’t been going so sweet for UFC light heavyweight Rashad Evans.

After stringing together an impressive four-fight win streak following his brutal title loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98, the former champ has looked abysmal in his last two outings, dropping back-to-back bouts to Jon Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Now set to face former Pride champ Dan Henderson at this weekend’s UFC 161, Evans will need a win to retain his elite status in the division.

If we rewind the clock to just a year-and-a-half ago, “Suga” was then considered by many to be a top-three light heavyweight at the time. Except for the elusive Machida, Evans took down nearly every top 205er the UFC threw at him, from up-and-comers like Phil Davis to MMA legends like Tito Ortiz.

This Evans was a killer who disposed of his opponents with a combination of high-level wrestling and explosive striking.

But in his last two bouts, Evans has looked considerably slower and plain out of form.

While failing to reclaim his belt from rival Jones was a tough pill to swallow for Evans, the fight against “Little Nog” was even more excruciating to watch. Evans looked uncharacteristically slow and lethargic in the final two frames of their UFC 156 bout, which landed him on the wrong side of a unanimous decision.

While I doubt that “Suga” will be given a pink slip by the UFC should he come up short against Henderson on Saturday night, a third straight loss will be a telling sign of the former champ’s inability to hang with the upper echelon of the division.

With guys such as Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira quickly making their way up the rankings, a veteran like Evans needs to stay on the winning track to remain relevant, especially when it comes to title contention.

If the 33-year-old former champ is able to emerge victorious on Saturday—and in convincing fashion—he will at least momentarily silence the critics who have called for his head.

This fight will have a long-term impact on his career as well.

Whether it was injuries, a lack a motivation or a combination of the two, Evans looked like he didn’t want to be in the Octagon in his last two fights. With another outing like that, he may become the division’s newest gatekeeper.

A win against Henderson, however, would not only secure his position in the rankings but could also spark a new fire under “Suga.” It all depends on which Rashad Evans shows up on Saturday night.

The one-time titleholder can either continue his downward spiral or rise to the occasion at UFC 161. Here’s hoping for the latter.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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UFC on FS1 1: Did the UFC Deliver with First Fox Sports 1 Fight Card?

As an avid MMA fanatic who currently resides in Boston, admittedly, I was initially a bit disappointed by the fight card that the UFC announced it will be bringing to the Hub for its Fox Sports 1 debut on August 17.Maybe it was all the talk about the p…

Maybe it was all the talk about the possibility of a champ like Jon Jones or Benson Henderson getting the nod to headline the summer event at the TD Garden—or perhaps it was just me acting as a spoiled fan—but I was expecting more from these bouts, especially after UFC president Dana White said that it would be “the biggest card on free television that we’ve ever done.”

Although the line-up features a plethora of former Zuffa title holders and TUF alums, the fact that eight of the 12 main card fighters are coming into this event off of losses made me feel uneasy about the promotion’s kick-off on FS1 this summer.

But once my fan-boy side simmered down and I took the time to reevaluate the fights, I am now actually pretty pumped for the UFC’s next trip to Boston.

Like really, super pumped.

True, many of the athletes on the main card have seen their stock fall in recent months due to losses, but it’s not like they are coming in with Leonard Garcia-style losing streaks. In fact, if this line-up had been announced just a few months prior, critics and fans alike would be praising the promotion for putting together such a stacked event.

However, there always seems to be a “what have you done for me lately” mentality with us fickle MMA enthusiasts.

For example, headliners Chael Sonnen and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua may be a combined 4-5 over the past three years, but each of those defeats—and even most of the wins—have come against the best of the best in their respective divisions.

There’s a difference between having back-to-back losses against the likes of Jon Jones and Anderson Silva and having back-to-back losses to middle of the pack fighters, so maybe we should cut the main eventers a little bit of slack.

The same goes for the night’s co-main event.

Every MMA fan and their mother was excited to see Alistair Overeem finally grace the Octagon in December of 2011. But after one unexpected, yet brutal, knockout loss—and let’s not forget his positive drug test prior to UFC 146—”The Reem” has lost a ton of support.

Think what you will of the Dutch striker, but his recent misfortunes shouldn’t completely dissuade viewers from tuning in. Before fans completely write him off, we should give Overeem a chance to see if he can get back to his glory days, like when he was putting people to sleep as the K-1 and Strikeforce heavyweight champ.

As for the card as a whole, critics need to consider that there is a former UFC champ, a former Strikeforce champ, two former WEC champs, a TUF winner and plenty of TUF alums that will be fighting in Boston—not to mention one of the sport’s best trash-talkers, as well as a certain budding Irish prospect.

With names like Sonnen, Overeem, Conor McGregor, Urijah Faber and more set to do battle at the TD Garden, on paper, this card could rival most of the UFC’s recent pay-per-views.

For me, the only true gripe I have with this event is the lack of featured local talent.

Sure, Boston-area native Joe Lauzon and Irishman McGregor will be on the card, but that’s about it. I would love to see Team Link’s Gabriel Gonzaga of Ludlow, MA be featured at this show, or even the UFC return of Dorchester’s own John Howard.

But, even without featuring a lot of hometown fighters, this card is still quite stacked for a free, televised event.

Sure, fans may be a bit weary since many of the fighters are coming into the summer event following losses, but that should make fans even more excited because athletes almost always do their best when their backs are against the wall. And, if these fighters want to stay employed by the UFC, you can bet that they are going to bring their all on August 17.

Not to mention one of the sport’s best trash-talkers, as well as a certain budding Irish prospect.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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Report: Joe Rogan and Jon Anik Get the Nod for UFC on Fox Sports 1 in Boston

It looks like the UFC will be switching up it’s commentary team for the promotion’s debut card on Fox Sports 1 this August.According to a report by the New York Post’s Marc Raimondi Tuesday evening, comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan will join Jon …

It looks like the UFC will be switching up it’s commentary team for the promotion’s debut card on Fox Sports 1 this August.

According to a report by the New York Post’s Marc Raimondi Tuesday evening, comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan will join Jon Anik behind the mic when the UFC comes to Boston for the launch of the new network on Aug. 17.

The switch will be a change of pace for both men as Rogan usually works the pay-per-view cards with Mike Goldberg while Anik is usually paired with Kenny Florian for Fuel TV and FX shows.

However, this won’t be the first time that Rogan and Anik, who both hail from Boston, will have worked a card together. The duo previously called UFC 155 this past December when Anik replaced Goldberg, who had to pull out due to health issues.

In my opinion, the pair did a great job calling that card, so I can’t wait to see them work together again this summer.

There has been no news yet as to whether this will be the commentary team for future FS1 events.

Another interesting note from yesterday’s report is the news that former light-heavyweight and middleweight top contender Chael Sonnen will be joining Florian in studio for the Boston card.

It was previously rumored that Sonnen would face MMA legend Wanderlei Silva in the night’s main event, however, that will likely not be the case now that he’s on analyst duty.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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