On Thursday, West Virgina became the latest state to move ahead with MMA regulation, leaving New York, Connecticut and Vermont, states with regulating bodies, as the remaining three that still have yet to do the same. It was a long and drawn-out battle, much like the fight seen in the state of New York, however, the day has finally come.
Joe Rogan said it best during the Fight Night:Seattle broadcast, stating that the fact that MMA still has a hard time gaining acceptance from every state able to do so is quite embarrassing.
A true MMA fan cannot agree with Mr. Rogan more. West Virgina's lawmakers insisted that they did not even look at how much the sport has changed since the 1990s, and stood by their story that the sport was brutal and barbaric and had no place.
It took a very long time and hard lobbying by people such as Sam Minardi, who is a longtime advocate of MMA and a former member of the Athletic Board for West Virginia. He helped open the eyes of lawmakers and did his work in trying to sell the sport on its mainstream acceptance and safety.
While this is a huge step, as any state regulating the sport is a good thing, it is still not enough, especially with New York being a big state that still refuses to join the choir.
New York stands as a huge market for mixed martial arts, and has the potential to make promoters and the state itself a lot of money with fight events, amateur and professional. One cannot deny how many dollars both parties could attain with a huge UFC event.
It has been 10 years since Zuffa helped make the sport safer and instated rules to ensure such. With Nevada and New Jersey being states that came aboard and backed the sport, many states followed, especially after 2005 when the sport exploded with the help of the UFC's Ultimate Fighter reality show and exciting fights from talent such as Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes.
Safety in the sport can be something hard to explain to people, with its obvious dangers and clear punishment that the fighters do endure. The simple fact is that deaths in MMA are way down compared to boxing and football, and there are no deaths in the professional realm. One has to look no further than these facts.
Also, up to this day, there has not been a case of a retired fighter suffering from any form of disease or debilitating injuries, at least not to my knowledge.
Overall, the sport is a huge hit with the public, a fact that cannot be denied. With the money that is earned with events, and the entertainment value the sport provides, it is sure on its way to becoming one of the mainstream sports that we see on the daily basis.
Every year, the sport grows bigger than in the one before; however, it cannot get to the heights that we all wish to see without regulation across the board.
I sincerely believe that we will see this one day; however, how long it will take is something that I cannot put my finger on. I do agree with Joe Rogan, it is definitely embarrassing that we are still in a world where people refuse to open their eyes to reason, or to a sport that so many people obviously love, whether they like it themselves or not.
It is definitely going to be a fight, but I believe the powers that be will continue to work and push hard, and help the sport that we all love gain acceptance and continue to flourish.
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