Is MMA Really STILL Illegal in New York?!?

Is MMA Really STILL Illegal in New York?

It still boggles my mind that it is ILLEGAL to promote a Mixed Martial Arts show in New York State! The fastest growing sport on the planet is BANNED in the greatest and most influential city on the planet. Can I be the only person that this seems strange to?

Meanwhile, on March 27th, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, UFC 111, a HUGE, sold-out MMA event is being staged. Realize that the venue in question is just a mere 10 miles outside the borders of both the city and state of New York.

Realistically, more than half the crowd in attendance will be residents of New York but the state of New Jersey will be the one benefiting financially. Our pockets (New Yorkers) will be drained at every bridge, tunnel and highway toll booth, as well as at every New Jersey Transit bus and train station. It just doesn't make sense in any way.

Sure, we're happy to have a big show taking place in close proximity, but we (New Yorkers) NEED to be able to go to shows inside our state's borders.  

Even more irritating, and hypocritical, is all the event related promotion of UFC 111 that is happening in NYC during this pre-show week. It's illegal to actually stage the show within our city's and state's borders, but we can PROVIDE the greatest backdrop on the planet to promote it from? INSANITY!

• On Saturday, the 27th, there is a live viewing of UFC 111, on a 70 foot screen, at the world renowned Radio City Music Hall.

• There is a fan and press event on Wednesday, the 24th, also at Radio City Music Hall. Dana White will host the public press conference, along with UFC superstars Georges St-Pierre, Dan Hardy, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin. Immediately following the event, White, St-Pierre, Hardy, Mir and Carwin will take part in an unprecedented hour-long Q&A.  

• On Thursday, March 25th, St-Pierre, Hardy, Mir and Carwin will perform afternoon workouts for members of the Tri-State and International press at Peak Performance Strength & Condition Center located at 54 West 21st Street.

Besides those specific promotional events, bars all over the city and state will be airing UFC 111 live. Hooters in midtown is a perfect spot to watch the fights for those of you who like to mix your MMA with scantily clad waitresses, curly fries and beer.

The always outspoken Frank Mir recently commented on the situation, saying, "I don't think it's a coincidence that UFC 111 is taking place 15-20 minutes away from Manhattan. A lot of people who might be on the fence about the sport can see how it could help out the economy in New York. And if there's a stigma about fans that go to an MMA event being rowdy or always drunk or not being real fight fans, the best way to dispel those myths is to have an event right there."

Obviously, politics are heavily to blame here. The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) is already reeling from the decline in boxing's popularity and lack of high quality fights on the horizon. There aren't many BIG boxing fights out there to begin with and the few left that have any real earnings potential seem to be having problems getting signed. Again, more politics. The "powers that be" behind all this are slowly ruining the great sport of boxing and are also doing their damnedest to hold back the inevitable tsunami that is the legalization of MMA in New York.

Melvina Lathan, the chairwoman of the NYSAC, appreciates MMA enough to want the State Legislature to legalize the sport it banned. “It’s not something I rush home to see, but I recognize its athleticism,” she said. “I like the intelligence needed to get out of holds where so many disciplines are used. When they’re grappling, I grab the edge of my chair.”

A study for the state said that one mixed martial arts show in Buffalo and one in Manhattan would generate $1.2 million in state and local taxes. Lathan said the study underestimated the economic impact of legalization, which would almost certainly lure New York fans who are attending combat cards held in states where the sport is legal. “Those are our revenues going outside the state,” she said.

Another revenue estimate came up with the following numbers: A UFC event at Madison Square Garden could generate $12 million in economic activity along with $400,000 in tax revenue for the city and $555,000 for the state. All that money will now end up in New Jersey's coffers.

When MMA does finally get sanctioning in NYS (which will happen sooner rather than later), it will be a huge economic boon for the sport and for the state. There is too much money to be made for Albany to just ignore the sport much longer. Besides all the spots in "the City", there are venues all over the state, from Long Island to Upstate, that are more than ready to hold events, and able to add revenue to the state's bottom line.

As a native and lifetime resident of NYC, as much as I will enjoy the big shows (UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, etc.), I really look forward to attending the smaller shows. The Roseland Ballroom in midtown Manhattan is a perfect venue to hold a smaller show. With a capacity of approximately 2000, (depending on how much space the cage will take up on the main floor) its a perfect room for an MMA show. I've seen both boxing and muay thai shows there that were excellent and very well received. Roseland is just one example of smaller venues all over the state that can host excellent MMA shows.
Its absolutely INSANE that New York is one of only 4 states where mixed martial arts events are OUTLAWED!!!
 
For the time being, we (New Yorkers) just have to keep giving New Jersey and Connecticut our money until the EMPTY suits in Albany gets off their asses and decide to join the party!

I'm confident it will happen soon, but this should have been done MMAny years ago!

Newark, or New York?!? 
Mind boggling!!!!!!!

www.BUDO-MMA-NYC.com 

Renzo & Serra-The Teacher/Student Relationship in Modern MMA!

On March 27th, Georges St. Pierre, arguably the best P4P fighter on the planet, is defending his WW strap against Dan Hardy at UFC 111 in New Jersey. While the fight itself has some enticing technical scenarios, there is another aspect to this match-up that really intrigues me. Its the fact that St. Pierre is being trained by Renzo Gracie and Hardy is being trained by Matt Serra. Gracie is Serra's longtime teacher.

GSP has periodically trained at Gracie's academy for the last 7 years, and has made training at Renzo's school in New York City a big part of his camp for this fight. Hardy, on the other hand, has recently been working with Matt Serra. Matt is one of Renzo's top students, and the last fighter to beat GSP. Serra didn't just beat GSP, he humiliated him, forcing him to tap from strikes. Let me repeat, he TAPPED from strikes! Basically, he quit and cried for mercy.



Tapping from strikes is a very rare occurence in MMA. Prior to GSP committing that cardinal sin, the last time I remember that happening was when Remco Pardoel committed a similar sacrilege against Marco "the King of the Streets" Ruas way back at UFC 6. That was in September of 1995. For those with issues doing math, that was over 14 years ago!!! 

In April of 2008, GSP fully redeemed himself by dominating Serra in their rematch at UFC 83 in Montreal. No one is questioning who the better fighter is between GSP and Serra. Georges undoubtedly is. Nor am I questioning GSP's heart. He got caught, was badly hurt and reacted. It happens. But did that fateful night at UFC 69 leave a lasting impression in GSP's head? Will knowing that Hardy is training with Serra, the only fighter in the last 5 years to solve the riddle that is GSP's dominance, have an impact on his psyche? I think it might!

Now back to the main topic of this blog. Anyone who has ever trained in martial arts understands the unique relationship between a teacher and student. The student ALWAYS has to show the utmost respect to his teacher and very rarely will a student compete against his instructor/sensei. This raises the question; are Renzo and Matt competing against each other by training opposing fighters in such a high-level fight? I would have to say they are. Will that have an impact on their teacher/student relationship? To some degree, it has to.

Even though Georges has been training at Renzo's academy for the last 7 years, he has never actually trained with Renzo himself until now. He's always worked with John Danaher, one of the very qualified instructors who teaches at Renzo's school, and also one of his earliest American blackbelts. Danaher also assisted Renzo in the writing of his first book on BJJ, earning a co-writer credit in the process. Since Renzo is training for his upcoming fight with Matt Hughes at UFC 112, the first to be held in Abu Dhabi, it makes perfect sense for these guys to train and roll together. I'm sure both guys are learning from each other and greatly benefitting from the experience. Renzo gets to roll with GSP and prep for Hughes' wrestling, while GSP gets to sharpen up his BJJ skills and learn from a true legend in the game. I still remember the first time I saw Renzo fight in the now long defunct World Combat Championship. Renzo stepped on Ben Spijkers neck after ckoking him out. Renzo has always been a respectful fighter but on that day Spijkers deserved it. He pulled some disresectful BS during the day prior to the fight that justifiably pissed Renzo off. I've been a big fan ever since. His intensity was palpable!

In public, and in interviews, Gracie and Serra can say whatever they want, but their relationship has to be somewhat strained by this. I wouldn't say its damaged, but I think it has to be strained. Money must be a factor. Given how huge the UFC has become, the "$$$nake" has to have reared it's ugly head. Is there too much money at stake to uphold "old school" martial arts traditions? That depends on who you ask. Then again, this whole scenario might just be the creation of the producers of UFC Primetime on Spike TV. Their job is to create drama, and this situation certainly does that. Mission accomplished!

I am not questioning the actions of any of the people involved, as I have IMMENSE respect for all of them. I'm just making observations. The pertinent questions are; What is real? What is fabricated for TV? And what role does money and television exposure play in all of this? Everyone does what they have to do to put food on their family's table. You can't fault a man for that.

Only those intimately involved can answer those questions, but without a doubt, we are being treated to some great TV, and hopefully we get a great fight as well. On paper, GSP walks through Hardy as easy as a Sunday stroll, but the fight still has to happen. We all thought the same thing before the first fight with Serra and look how that turned out. After seeing the first 2 episodes of Primetime, I'm starting to think Hardy will be a much tougher opponent for GSP than most are giving him credit for. This should be a very competitive fight.   

The irony in this situation is that I don't expect to see much BJJ being used in this fight. We have 2 world class BJJ instructors involved on the training side, but we'll potentially see little or no jits on display in this match. Hardy's best chance at victory is standing and banging, while GSP will most likely use his patented formula of wrestling, TDs and GnP. If we do see any jits, it will be by GSP, probably an RNC after Hardy gives up his back due to eating too many elbows. I hope I'm wrong  about this and we get treated to a technical jiu-jitsu match, but I just don't see that happening. As fans of MMA and BJJ, we should only be so lucky!

Just to add, its great to see New York City playing such a pivitol role in GSP's training regimen. Besides spending a significant amount of time at Renzo's academy, GSP trains muay thai with notorious instructor Kru Phil Nurse at Lugsitnarong Thai Boxing Gym in Chinatown, NYC.

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Can't We All Just Get Along?

Can't We All Just Get Along?

To counter-program or not to counter-program, that is the question?!?

The goal of any MMA promotion, besides making money, should be to do whatever is possible to advance the sport. When companies stage opposing shows, on the same night, they are doing nothing but decreasing the number of eyeballs seeing either show. How is that a positive thing on any level?

Regardless of how well a card does in the ratings, it would do even better if it wasn't going head to head with another live MMA event. Essentially, when a promoter chooses to counter-program a competitor's event, they are shooting themselves in the foot! The goal of stealing viewers from another event might be achieved, but at what expense? Both show's numbers would undoubtedly be considerably better if they were on separate nights. That's a fact!

Obviously I'm referring to Zuffa's decision to stage a live UFC event on Spike, April 17th, the same night that Strikeforce is airing a live event on Showtime. From strictly a talent standpoint, Strikeforce wins this battle hands down. There's really no disputing that. Strikeforce is having a virtually unprecedented 3 title fights on their card that is loaded with top level talent. On the other hand , the UFC's card, which isn't finalized yet, won't come remotely close in talent or in true quality MMA match-ups. Zuffa's card will have "popular" fighters on it, most likely Kimbo Slice, but Kimbo is far from a quality MMA fighter. A potential main event of Kimbo vs Matt "Meathead" Mitrione is almost embarrassing as far as the actual talent level. Comparing that to the likes of Gilbert Melendez vs Shinya Aoki, Dan Henderson vs Jake Shields and Gegard Mousasi vs King Mo, all title fights, is like comparing a Mercedes to a Hyundai. The disparity is enormous!

Besides attempting to sabotage Strikeforce's TV ratings, Zuffa is also possibly going after their live gate by holding the UFC show in Tennessee, the same state that the Strikeforce event is happening in. These guys are not playing games. You have to respect Zuffa's voracity and aggressive approach to maintaining the significant gap they currently hold on the North American MMA market share. But ultimately, no pun intended, is it the smartest route to take for the betterment of the sport?

Strikeforce's head honcho, Scott Coker, has thus far taken the high road in the counter-programming battle with Zuffa. He had an opportunity to put on a free live show (on either CBS or Showtime) opposite the WEC's first PPV event on April 24th. In his words, "CBS had an opportunity to do the fight on April 24th and go after the WEC pay-per-view date, and they said, 'No, let's just do it on April 17th and be nice guys'. Now that the counter-programming is coming their way, I think there is some fluidity in what could happen." Given MMA fans already negative reaction to having to pay for a WEC card for the first time, Coker could have done serious damage to the success of that show. He chose not to. But there is still a possibility that that could change. The original decision to not go against the WEC PPV might have been a goodwill gesture, hoping Zuffa would reciprocate that down the road. It might also mean that he fears Zuffa and doesn't want to further antagonize the beast. Or maybe, imagine this, Coker actually cares about the sport of MMA and knows that the more eyes watching every MMA show, regardless of who's promoting it, the better it is for the sport overall.

We all know Zuffa lives and loves to kill any potential competitor. Does anyone remember PRIDE? The tactic of "buying it and killing it" worked very well for Zuffa. They far from invented this basic business practice, as it happens everyday in all types of industries. Companies swallow up other companies just to kill the competition. While it may be $mart, is it good for the advancement of the sport?

And in the age of DVR and Tivo, is counter-programming even effective any more? Any real fan is watching both shows back to back, and deciding for themselves which to watch live.

Can't we all just get along? 

Please?!?

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