The Two Decade Battle To Legalize MMA In New York
When the UFC were banned from hosting their 12th event in Niagra Falls, New York it would lead to a near-20 year shut from the state, despite it being the UFC’s most lucrative pay-per-view market.
the UFC’s eventual owners Zuffa would go on to spend millions of dollars lobbying to have the sport legalized there, yet for seven years in a row their bill failed to pass.
Their efforts were hindered by the fact that there was an ongoing dispute between The Fertitta brothers and the Culinary Union over their decision not to unionize their casino’s, which led to to the Union taking aim at the UFC and using their considerable influence to convince politicians not to legalize the sport there.
Speaker Of The Assembly, Sheldon Silver was also anti-UFC, and it was only when he was forced to resign from his position due to corruption charges that the UFC finally managed to get the bill through the Assembly and legalize the sport in New York at last.
