(Or at least MMA.)

The Washington Post ran a story today about a Maryland Delegate trying to undo the ban on mixed martial arts in the state. The bill is House Bill 795 – which is fascinating reading – drafted by Democratic Delegate Kirill Reznik of Montgomery County. Here’s a snippet:

Democratic Delegate Kirill Reznik of Montgomery County has proposed a bill allowing the mixed martial arts contests. He says the law change would allow Maryland to play host to nationally known events. Reznik has studied a version of a martial art called Chinese Kempo for more than 20 years.

Reznik says all Maryland’s neighboring states except West Virginia allow the fights. Lawmakers in Michigan signed off on a similar bill about mixed martial arts last year.

And as BloodyElbow pointed out earlier, MMA is legal in the nation’s capitol and in the state of Virginia. So bringing Maryland on board would expand the opportunities for fighters, venues, promotions and training camps in the DC/Tri-State area. The Canadian Press also reported on several states legalizing MMA last year.

Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Virginia all approved MMA in 2007, according to the UFC.

The ranks of the MMA prudes are shrinking. We already know that some parts of our northern cousins’ country do not allow the glory that is MMA, but there are states remaining that have not seen the light. And some states that allow professional MMA events do not allow amateur events, which is kinda’ understandable – but not much fun. After some quick research, we came up with the following states that either need to get on board or secede from the union.

-Maine: Big shock here.

-Maryland: Hopefully not for long.

-Nebraska: While not exactly illegal, it’s left up to the communities/counties – and many prosecute for assault or promoting assault.

-New York: This just doesn’t make any sense.

-North Carolina: Possible change in the works.

-South Carolina: Too worried someone might knock their two teeth out.

-Tennessee: Heavy lobbying to make it legal.

-West Virginia: Write your congressman.

So hopefully 2008 will see these states put into a legal armbar and you can get some MMA action in your town soon.