Sports: Jon Jones joins effort to lift UFC ban in New York

ALBANY -- A much-hyped April bout for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's light-heavyweight crown will feature a pair of native upstate New Yorkers who are among the most well-known names in mixed-martial arts.

But it won't take place in Madison Square Garden in Manhattan or Buffalo's First Niagara Center or any of the state's other large-scale arenas. Rather, it will be held in Atlanta's Philips Arena, some 900 miles away.

UFC officials are hoping the April 21 title fight between Rashad Evans and Jon "Bones" Jones could be enough to sway lawmakers in the promoter's annual battle with the Legislature over the state's ban on professional mixed-martial arts bouts.

"This fight that we have coming up is going to be equivalent to Ali and Frazier, and there's no reason why we shouldn't be in Madison Square Garden," Evans, a Niagara Falls native, said Thursday. "New York should be getting the money that Atlanta is going to receive."

UFC's Las Vegas-based parent company, Zuffa LLC, has lobbied New York lawmakers unsuccessfully for at least four years in an effort to overturn the state's ban, which was enacted in 1997.

The company filed a lawsuit against the state and New York City in November, alleging that the law prohibiting the sport was unconstitutional and in violation of the First Amendment. That suit is still pending in federal court.

"This fight is just as big as any Yankees game, any Jets game, any Giants game," said Jones, who was born in Rochester, grew up in Endicott, and now lives in Ithaca. "I'm just wondering when New York is going to open their eyes and realize what we're missing out on."

As was the case in previous years, the chances of overturning the ban appear bleak this year.

The state Senate passed a bill last year that would have removed the prohibition and allowed the state Athletic Commission to regulate the sport, but it never reached the Assembly floor for a vote.

Several lawmakers and advocacy groups have expressed concern about the violent nature of professional mixed-martial arts bouts.

"I do not believe there is any groundswell to change the position that we've taken on this issue," said Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes, Albany County. "Speaking for myself, I consider it violent and I don't believe in this day and age we should be encouraging activities of this sort."

Not all Senate Republicans are completely sold on the merits of the sport, either.

"I supported it, but I have mixed emotions on it," said Senate Deputy Majority Leader Tom Libous, R-Binghamton. "I see it as entertainment and as positive economic development, but I wouldn't say that I am a personal fan of it."

Jones, who holds the UFC's light-heavyweight belt, said he hopes to someday fight in New York in front of his family and friends.

"It would just mean a lot to say thank you to them for being such strong supporters of UFC and such strong supporters of me personally," Jones said. "To let them see me fight in person I think could be a memorable experience for people."

Source: http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20120322/SPORTS/203220419/1128/

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