On Monday, Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York denied a preliminary injunction request by Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, to allow the UFC to host events in New York while their larger lawsuit claiming the ban on MMA in the state is too vague to stand.
Following the news on Monday, UFC COO Lawrence Epstein's said the company was "disappointed", but not deterred from their objective of holding events in New York state.
"We are disappointed by the District Court's denial of our motion for a preliminary injunction and its effort to redirect the litigation to the state courts," Epstein said. "One thing, and one thing only, prevents Madison Square Garden and other New York venues from hosting UFC events that are allowed in the other 49 States in the Union -- that is the New York law that we believe violates the federal Constitution. Today's decision, while disappointing, only underscores the importance of UFC's pending appeal to the Second Circuit. UFC will evaluate this decision with an eye to pursuing every effective avenue to bring New Yorkers the same live events available to spectators throughout the United States."
"We are very hopeful that the New York State legislature, either through a stand alone bill or via the Governor's budget, will approve MMA in NY as soon as possible."
LINK: UFC 'disappointed' by ruling preventing New York event, vows to continue effort