New York the final state to permit pro bouts

source | WIVB.com

Alexis Davis looked more like legislative staff than a Las Vegas-bound professional fighter as she made the rounds Tuesday at the New York Capitol as part of another push to legalize professional mixed martial arts.

The state Senate voted 44-16 to make New York the final state to permit pro bouts, its latest such vote in supporters’ six-year bid to make MMA legal in New York — and the lucrative New York City market. But the bill’s prospects remain uncertain in the Assembly, which has declined to follow the Senate and authorize the New York State Athletic Commission to regulate the sport like it does boxing.

The 29-year-old Davis, a native of Port Colborne, Ontario, near Buffalo, did interviews and met lawmakers just as other fighters — including Ronda Rousey, an ex-Olympic judo medalist and Davis’ bantamweight opponent July 5 — have come before.

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