(Oh, you DID NOT just deny my Facebook friend request, Reilly.)

In an interview given to MMAFightCorner, Dana White didn’t beat around the bush when discussing the possibility of finally legalizing mixed martial arts in New York. If you recall, the UFC recently filed a law suit against New York, claiming that the “Empire State” was in breach of their first amendment rights to peacefully assemble. Specifically, Zuffa lawyers have been attempting to prove that mixed martial arts is a form of entertainment, like any other sport, and therefore cannot be criminalized.

Well, it seems we may have finally reached the mountaintop, so to speak, as the UFC President seems more than confident that 2012 will be the year that New Yorkers near and far will finally be able to sit down and watch MMA from somewhere other than their couches:

We’re so close. It’s going to happen, and I guarantee you it’s going to happen this year. It’s going to depend on when it happens, timing and everything else, but obviously, it would be nice to go in there with, probably, Jon Jones.

(So the UFC is too brutal for New York, but children are allowed to see "Mamma Mia"? Explain that one to me. / Photo courtesy of graciemag.com.)

NYDailyNews.com breaks the unfortunate turn of events:

ALBANY – The push to legalize ultimate fighting in New York is on the ropes. Assembly Democrats stripped approval for the wildly popular violent sport from a budget bill that lawmakers will take up as soon as today.

Gov. Paterson sought to legalize mixed martial arts, saying fights could pull in more than $2 million in tax revenue for the cash-strapped state.

"The majority of voices who spoke about this issue in our conference were not supportive of approving it as part of the budget," said Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-L.I.), a fight fan. Englebright said it’s a long shot the Assembly will revisit the issue. The state Senate has already approved the sport.

("Helen, I need you to track down this ‘Nate Diaz‘ fellow. I believe this young man may have some interesting ideas on how to address the state’s growing hater problem.")

On Monday, we gleefully high-fived each other at the news that New York Governor David Paterson was coming out publicly in favor of MMA regulation in the Empire State. But new support is coming from a surprising — and just as significant — source. Via the New York Daily News:

Kickass. We now have two governors on our side, while the opposition’s most prominent voice in New York is still crackpot Assemblyman Bob Reilly, aided by a few ill-informed, progress-resisting editorial columnists who still refer to mixed martial arts as "ultimate fighting" (no offense to the guy who wrote the above article). Pataki’s change-of-heart will be an incredibly valuable talking point in the battle to come: If the dude who banned MMA can inform himself on the sport’s progress over the last ten years and change his opinion, those opposition voices should be able to do the same.

(An open mind, and the ability to pull tall chicks. Gotta love this dude.)

From NYDailyNews.com:

(New York Governor David Paterson. You’d think a guy who lost his eye in unregulated vale tudo matches in the late ’80s would have more sympathy to our cause.)

I doubt many of you follow New York politics, but it’s a freakin’ mess out here right now. Virtually nothing constructive has gotten done in the NY senate over the last two weeks, and as an emergency session comes to a close today — ending the legislative body’s 2009 schedule — one bill that will be left out in the cold is our beloved S2165A, intended to regulate mixed martial arts in New York State. Originally, the bill was on the docket for a June 9th vote. Unfortunately, things fell apart on June 8th. MMA Weekly has the story:

(Vote ‘yes’ or Matt Serra will eat this baby. Photo courtesy of bleacherreport.com)

After months of debate and delay, the New York State Assembly Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports has set a date for their vote on bill 2009-B, intended to regulate mixed martial arts in New York. MMA Weekly confirmed that the vote will take place Wednesday, June 3rd, and passed along these additional details:

(When this charming bastard speaks to a group of women, that sound you hear after he’s done ain’t nothing but panties dropping.)

Our old friend Bob Reilly is back in the MMA news.  This time it isn’t just for his completely nonsensical reasoning for opposing MMA regulation in New York State, but because of untruths he’s been telling about union campaign contributions.  MMA Payout picked up on Reilly’s assertion in this USA Today story that he doesn’t know, nor did he ever receive campaign contributions from UNITE HERE, the union that’s beefing with the Fertitta-owned Station Casinos in Las Vegas and which may be partially behind the attempt to block the UFC in New York.  Trouble is, there are at least $5,500 in documented campaign contributions from UNITE HERE to Reilly.