It took the Ultimate Fighting Championship several years to finally get mixed martial arts legalized in the state of New York. The largest part of the battle, according to UFC president Dana White , was a political battle that had more to do with Las Vegas than it did New York. As White tells it, the UFC’s former co-owners, the Fertitta brothers, were locked in a battle with the Las Vegas Culinary Union over their substantial casino business in Nevada. But when the Culinary Union couldn’t win the battle on its home turf, they took the battle to the corrupt political climate of New York
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Dana White Outs Disgusting, Dirty Politics that Kept UFC Out of New York – MMA Weekly