(Madison Square Garden — the Promised Land.)

Hey Potato Nation. As you might be aware, MMA competition has been banned in New York since 1997, during the height of the “human cockfighting” scare. Though 37 states including California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois, have passed laws regulating mixed martial arts, the Empire State is still officially opposed to the sport — and old, crusty, and illogical forces are at work to keep it that way.

But rather than complaining about the situation, we’re going to do something about it. That’s why we’re asking you to take a moment out of your day, go to our online petition, read it (that part’s optional), and sign it. The petition is directed at the New York Assembly Committee on Tourism, Arts & Sports Development, who sunk last year’s effort to get MMA sanctioned in New York, and will be voting again on the issue in the very near future. Our hope is that opponents of MMA in New York’s State Legislature will get a little more education on the issue, and realize that public opinion — which every politician lives and dies by — is firmly on the side of our sport.

We know what kind of emotion-driven, infuriatingly uninformed arguments we’re up against. We know that having to compete out-of-state affects Matt Serra‘s performance. And I think we all agree that MMA should be legal everywhere in the country, particularly in a major city like New York. (I’m just saying, it would be nice to take a subway to a UFC event rather than an airplane.) Please spread the word about our petition to any MMA fans you know, and as always, keep hope alive.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION!

(And if you have a Digg account, please show some love.)