UFC 198 at Madison Square Garden is officially in its final countdown according to a letter submitted to the federal judge overseeing the UFC’s New York lawsuit.
When last we left the UFC saga in New York, the promotion had moved for a preliminary injunction to keep the State of New York from enforcing what’s claimed to be an unconstitutionally vague Combative Sports Law at what’s scheduled to be UFC 198 on April 23, 2016.
That was back in September. The New York Attorney General has since submitted opposition papers and the UFC replied. The holidays came along and everyone’s been doing a lot of waiting. The UFC requested an oral argument to “assist the Court in its consideration of the issues.” To date, there’s no official response on record.
The UFC stepped things up a notch today, laying down a deadline of Jan. 25 for a ruling enjoining the Attorney General from interfering with UFC 198. Otherwise, it will “reluctantly be compelled to immediately take the necessary steps to lock in and market an arena outside New York for its April 23rd event. If forced to do so, the UFC will schedule another event at MSG in the fall, and will amend its Preliminary Injunction motion papers to reflect the new date. But that will neither eliminate nor remedy the substantial and irreparable injury the UFC will have suffered if it is unconstitutionally precluded from holding its April 23rd event in New York.”
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It’s hard to predict the whims of judges, but if the UFC’s deadline is serious, we might be that much closer to having to wait a little longer to enjoy our MMA Empire State of Mind.
Paul is Bloody Elbow’s analytics and business writer. Follow him @MMAanalytics.