Matt Serra Needs Your Help To Help Get MMA Sanctioned In New York
- By: Orlando Mac | May 9, 2008
With his recent crushing defeat to George St. Pierre in the record-breaking backyard brawl at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada Matt Serra has implored fans to unite in New York State.
He says, “If you are a fan, then help me to fight in New York!”
The advantage that GSP had with the monstrous support in his hometown was clearly evident as the fight wore on, and the same could be true for Serra in a rematch in New York City.
Imagine flying in for a whirlwind weekend in New York City. The sites, the sounds, the nightlife, and a Saturday Night filled of ferocious fisticuffs. Serra has teamed up with the UFC’s recent campaign, MMAFacts.com, to raise support for sanctioning in New York State.
Here are some of the facts that they would like some of the state legislatures to know:
- “MMA fighters are given more care and precaution than athletes in any other sports organization in the world. With supervised fights, pre and post‐fight MRIs, four ringside doctors and two ambulances in case of emergency at each event and mandatory steroid testing. The highest levels of safety and quality are upheld in all aspects of the sport.”
- MMA is much safer than boxing. Since its inception in the United States there have been no serious injuries or deaths in any of the major, sanctioned MMA organizations. Unlike boxing, in which fighters sustain repeated blows to the head for up to 15 rounds, MMA bouts last only 3-5 rounds and much of the fighting takes place on the mat as wrestling or grappling. In addition, unlike boxing gloves, MMA gloves are not weighted.
- “At UFC 67 in Las Vegas, 72 percent of attendees came to Las Vegas from outside of Nevada, indicating that the primary purpose of their trip was for the event and underscoring the tourism boost MMA offers.”
Imagine the benefits to the local economy through tourism, hotels, tax revenues, and throughout the whole of the entertainment district.
MMA is sanctioned in 32 states, including some of the biggest in the country the California, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, & Pennsylvania Athletic Commissions, New York is the only glaring omission. Some of the other 20 states don’t even have regulatory commissions and still allow MMA events in their state.
If you reside in New York State here is the link to your assembly members whom you can email to voice your concerns:
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/
Another great omission in North America is that of the province of Ontario, Canada where a draconian policy is still in effect because of the Commission where Ken Hayashi is chairman. Here is where you can contact the legislative assembly and its members:
http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/go2.jsp?locale=en&Page=/members/members_main&menuItem=mpps_header
Considering Mr. Hayashi cites federal law and almost every other province sanctions events under the same laws, it is clearly a personal mandate.
I would recommend any fight fan, whether you live in an unsanctioned state or province, take the time to voice your concern whether you live in that jurisdiction or not, as it will have a profound affect on the community as a whole.
Imagine a stacked card at Madison Square Gardens on a weekend with the boys or a crazy weekend north of the border to celebrate am MMA Conference or UFC Event in the Skydome with the roof open and the CN Tower glowing in the skyline.
Matt Serra would like you to take your passion for the sport, and make a difference. Do it now!
i saw serra in the elevator at the capital where i work…and i knew this is why he was here…and i would love to go up to all the legislators or senators or who ever and plead my case to get the ufc into new york
May 9th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I hope he is successful with this cause.
I hope I don’t sound like a prick but does anyone really think Sera will make it to #1 contender status to face GSP again? Maybe in the welterweight division you only have to get one big win unlike the LHW division where you need to get 2.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:45 am
If NY cannot or does not sanction MMA, F-CK THEM! Old timers need to get over all the BS reputation and misconcepted facts they think they know. MMA is not only the fastest growing sport in the country but here to stay. I am from California and probably would not travel to NY for any reason and still see it ridiculous that MMA fights are not sanctioned in NY.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Hell… I live in the UK but would love that as an excuse to visit NY!
May 9th, 2008 at 11:21 am
as a new yorker can i just say hummmminayeah id sell my first born son to b at this event live cuz if there coming to NY u kno that dana is gonna make the sickest card for it eva!! it has to b betta then the jersey event
May 9th, 2008 at 11:49 am
FixXeR needs your help getting the UFC to Chicago! haha
May 9th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Is there momment that MMA people not invoke boxing? I mean I am a boxing fan and in that younger demographic. I was getting into MAA until I saw what it’s all about. You guys sound like a bunch of sheep regurgitating everything Dana White says and drinking energy drinks. Is that a sport? More like sports entertainment. I hope NY does not sanction MMA, we already have the WWE for that …and another thing, stop calling it the “fastest growing sport.” The fastest growing sports in the USA are Soccer and Nascar. Basketball is probably the fastest growing sport in the world. Half a million PPVs buys a month does not really count as fastest growing sport.
OK, one more thing, the whole saftey issue, please take a look at some medical journals. Go to pubmed and see some the articiles that are starting to come out. The evidence is starting to come in and won’t be total until a few years, due to the infancy of MMA.
But, if it is so safe then is it really an ultimate fight? Are ball sports like football and rugby a tougher…The lack of danger makes me think that it is more like sports entertainment than people think…ans tsop bringing up boxing and fight your own fights (or fight entertainments)
May 9th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
i have to admit, madison square garden would be the place to finally establish to the world the force that is MMA. I think that would be the nail in the coffin as far as all the boxing enthusiasts go cuz it doesn’t get much bigger than that. It would have to be an ammmmmmazing card too. I’m pretty sure it’s only a matter of time.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Who says Serra should get a rematch even if Ny sanctioned fighting. I like Serra, but he got quickly destroyed there last fight. He would have to prove himself again in order to fight GSP in the near future.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
daman your a retard…for one nascar and i hate to say this but is the most watched sport in america, so how could it be the fastest growing if its already at the top dumb ass….and 2 thats the most rediculous thing i ever heard, you saying mma is almost like the wwe…and 3 boxing is about to die in about ummm idk less then 5 yrs so stop being stupid with your comments
May 9th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I do not really care I would rather watch MMA on TV anyways…
May 9th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
daman = ignorant
May 9th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Daman MMA is not for boxing enthusiats, and no one is trying to take boxing from you, the comparison is strictly on the merits of a sanctioned sport versus a non-sanctioned one, both of which are fighting sports. That is why the argument is made, the fact is that MMA fans don’t want boxing banned, they want MMA sanctioned.
As for medical journals, I did check a few when I researched the article and had statistics from several most notably the Journal of Combative Sports which was published in Novemenber 2007.
The Report stated that there have been 751 recorded deaths in the USA alone, 91 of which were in New York State.
In the last bunch of years alone there has been 527 deaths (worldwide) since July 2000.
In my research I have only found one fighter that has died because of injuries sustained in a MMA match, which was the death of Sam Vasquez on November 30, 2007.
I could think of 526 more good reasons that boxing should be banned over MMA.
My question is if you hate MMA so much then why are you on a purely MMA site? The entrance sign is clearly marked MMA Frenzy, lol.
As a former boxing fan, I have rarely watched a fight of late bar a few, talk about WWE tactics you ever hear of Don King?
The product is just not that enjoyable anymore, as punching alone won’t save you in the real world, so for me it comes off as fighting neutered. Besides they wear their belts so high the only place you can punch them is in the head, but I wouldn’t want it banned. With every sport their are risks and their are Commissions in each state that focus on fighter safety, but to say yes to one and not the other is ridiculous.
In Ontario’s case even boxing is rare because of the draconian restrictions.
As for boxing I just wouldn’t watch it, and I am a former boxer. All I see boxing as now is one element out of many that you have to train in to become a superior fighter.
Put Mouth Mayweather on the street to fight Anderson, and that would probably be one of the last times you would hear from him, not to mention he wouldn’t be as pretty as boxing has allowed him to be.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
NY may have to wait, there is just not enough information out there to study the effects of MMA, but they are starting to come in. How much in the early days was reported? There is enough banter and recycled verbatim about the MMA without critical thinking, and that’s the problem. Boxing fans admit what’s wrong with their sport, MMA fans are gathered around the book burning bonfires. So please invoke other sports so that every time I look up for some boxing news in Google some Affliction loving slob on blog doe not pop up. The Bloody elbows or whatever is the worse. One small point, the whole ” this boxing guy fights a MMA guy in a street fight”, has anybody gotten in a street fight like an MMA match? Try doing those ground moves and try not to cut yourself or get hurt. Real fighting is unpredictable and I’m willing to bet a lot of those NFL guys would destroy a majority of MMA guys by sheer power. The point is to have a sport right?
Dana White makes Don King look like a saint.
Injury Trends In Sanctioned Mixed Martial Arts Competition: A Five-Year Review 2002-2007.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine, United States
…However, there is limited information regarding the incidence of competition injuries following sanctioning by an athletic
…Additional study is warranted to achieve a better understanding of injury trends and ways to further lower injury risk in MMA.
No holds barred sport fighting: a 10 year review of mixed martial arts competition.
Cannon USAF Clinics, Aerospace/Preventive Medicine, Clovis, NM 88103, USA
Further research is warranted to delineate the morbidity associated with participation in mixed martial arts.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Daman I can appreciate what you are saying but you are talking injuries versus deaths, there is no extensive list about boxing injuries because there isn’t anough paper or enough funded workers to keep track of it.
So please I can appreciate the fact that there are MMA injuries, actually I never claimed that there wasn’t. Fact is that there is more football related deaths than there are MMA ones, but you are arguing with the wrong people.. we don’t want to take boxing from you.
As for the street fight any good fighter that I knew, and being in the nightlife entertainment business for a long time I knew a few. Were exceptional freestyle wrestlers.. who would fake a punch, shoot a quick single or double underneath it.. and ground and pund him out before he even knew what hit him.. then they would blend into the crowd and leave.
Now I wasn’t trying to condone street fighting, I was just trying to make you appreciate that boxing rules have little to do with the real world. There are many aspects to any fighter that could be successful with no rules present.
MMA is the most elite fighting sport that could equate most to success in the street for someones defense.
Now I know from experience that if you are in a bar situation the last thing you want to do is hit the ground, as any retard that has had two pints will kick you in the head for no reason.
When faced with multiple attackers which is the case in most of club fights you need to keep them all in front of you.. aim for vitals if they get close.. keep them at distance with a Muay Thai or Kick Boxing arsenal that would include boxing but it would also include wrestling in the fashion of sprawling and brawling, not to mention some judo throws to freak the pack…
This is what I have taught many to great affect.
I have also always preached that you should stay out of a fight at all costs as weapons will deteriorate your odds dramatically.. and this includes projectiles.. a full water bottle in the head could knock you out from a distance.
Number one is to always avoid a fight and there are many ways that I have taught to difuse things… but if you have no choice keep them in front.. bounce off them by pushing off.. and as soon as you can run to safety.. do so… as your odds of winning a fight against multiple attackers is extremely low.
If you have to strike.. my suggestion is to hit the biggest mouth or the biggest dude.. because if you do it right.. by faking elsewhere and uncorking on that person with a jaw punch or head kick.. you will catch them by surprise and could knock them out because they weren’t expecting it and had their guard down..
Doing that to either of those two will cause hesitancy in the group.. and it will allow you to get away.
Stop surfing google to fight guys that share similar beliefs we aren’t trying to take away boxing.. we are adding.. to the combative sports.
We are brothers not enemies..
May 11th, 2008 at 12:57 am
You’re a good man Orlandomac…and I like your post on fighting.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:52 am