Legislative opposition not the cause in MMA bill delay
UFC did not get legal sanction for mixed martial arts in Massachusetts due to bad timing.
Legislators failed to endorse a bill to the governor’s office to legitimize the sport in the state. The legislation, proposed by Sen. James Timilty, would have opened opportunities for the sport in a state where the population is around about 6.4 million.
UFC president Dana White told media after UFC 86 this weekend that he was keen on a November debut for the UFC in Boston, the state capital.
Matthew Moran, chief of staff for Timilty, said members of the legislature’s conference committee simply did not have the time to veto the MMA legislation to be included in the state budget proposal. The committee has to beat the deadline to get the rest of the state budget in front of the governor.
The 13-page MMA bill was being endorsed in an unconventional way, as an amendment to the state budget in an attempt to hasten its passage through legislative channels.
“I think word came down Monday night, Tuesday night that said we need to wrap this up and get a bill to the governor,” Moran said. “I think we just lost out on the timing.”
Moran denied the exclusion had anything to do with any legislative opposition to the sport as what has become apparent in New York. The MMA bill got sidelined in New York because it failed to shore up support due to the negative image of the sport. One legislator has described the MMA as a “glorification of brutality.”
“I doubt that was the issue,” he said. “Everything we received as far as feedback was a desire to pursue this … there was a great desire to do it. Unfortunately, in the rush to the finish line, certain issues just had to be taken off the table.”
Tags: legislation, Massachusetts, MMA, New York, UFC