Governor David Paterson wants to legalize MMA events in New York state, bringing in additional tax revenue from the shows surrounding the events. Current events use MMA fighting -- which includes jiujitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling -- and they sell-out arenas for the event and are broadcast on major TV networks.
Dan Dwyer is a professional MMA fighter, but has to travel out of the state to compete. With Paterson's proposed legislation, Dwyer could begin competing a little closer to home. "It would be nice to not have to travel so far," he said. "Traveling to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida kind of gets tiring on you."
Dwyer practices at the Curtis Tillman Mixed Martial Arts studio in Cicero. "There's been a huge explosion in MMA," Tillman said. "They (the MMA shows) bring out a lot of money to the table." Tillman is in support of bringing the sporting events to the state, and says MMA is akin to any other form of self-defense. "To us, it's like a chess game," he said. "Your aim is to make the other guy not be able to continue his fight. But we try to do it in a respectful, competitive manner."
However, a Manlius woman is against the legalization of the events in New York. Janice Grieshaber-Geddes is with the Jenna Foundation for Non-violence. She says she supports martial arts for disciple and self-defense, but MMA crosses the line. "It does seem a little like dog fighting, or the Coliseum, to me when you put one man against each other in a violent, vicious way," she said.
Governor Paterson will be seeing a main event of his own, as he will reveal his budget proposal -- and the inclusion of MMA -- next week. MMA events have failed to win support in the legislature before.
