Eight years later, the bill to legalize mixed martial arts in New York State finally passed Tuesday evening.
Moments after the news broke, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and Bellator president Scott Coker issued separate statements expressing their excitement, among other feelings, on the historic news.
“This has been a long time coming and on behalf of our New York UFC athletes and fans, I want to offer heartfelt thanks to Speaker Heastie, Majority Leader Morelle and all the Members of the Assembly – Democrats and Republicans – who voted for this bill.
“Joe Morelle has worked tirelessly to educate his colleagues and build support for legalizing professional MMA and regulating both professional and amateur MMA.