Legendary Madison Square Garden will host the UFC soon. Photo: Disclosure
This Tuesday (22), after years of arduous legal battle as the main supporter of the motion, the UFC achieved a huge victory and finally saw the approval of the bill that regulates the practice of professional MMA in the state of New York, the only of the 50 in the United States that still prohibited the practice of the sport. As expected, the Ultimate organization promised a grand card for the debut in New York City, but avoided setting dates for the event.
See too
“Our first big event will hopefully be at Madison Square Garden. Since we started talking about this, eight years ago, they have supported us. Our first big event will be there, but we don't have anything signed. We are also looking for other markets. We are thinking about other arenas. Let's do exactly what we said, take events there. Let's do whatever makes sense. We will take the most relevant fight at the time. Let's get as many New Yorkers on the card as possible. I don't know what the box office record is yet, but we're going after it. I think it will be an epic moment. Our focus is UFC 200, but when that passes, we will be very focused on the first card at Madison Square Garden”, said Lorenzo Fertitta, one of the owners of the UFC, in a conference call with the press.
However, Madison Square Garden was not guaranteed to host the first Ultimate event in the state. This is because the gym is one of the most popular on the planet, whether for concerts, boxing matches or other sporting events – currently four basketball, hockey and lacrosse teams play at MSG's facilities. “I'm not sure how many events we'll have at Madison Square Garden this year, but I hope we have one, but it won't necessarily be New York's first. The first one at Madison Square Garden will be heavy”, guaranteed Fertitta.
To date, Ultimate has only held one edition in the state of New York, but in the city of Buffallo, in the west of the state. The card took place in the distant year of 1995, when the event was not even managed by Zuffa (a company owned by Dana White and the Fertitta brothers). On that occasion, Brazilian Marco Ruas was the champion of the UFC 7 tournament, winning three fights on the same night.
Comments