UFC 205, And The Evidence of Things Unseen

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On November 2, 2013, Dagestani boxer Magomed Abdulsalamov fought before a cheering crowd at Madison Square Garden. He fought his heart out, fought to the final bell, fought until his brain was bleeding. But the New York State Athletic Commission – tasked to protect him and every other professional pugilist who laces up the gloves in the state – ignored his plight. Then came the coma and the stroke, the $100 million lawsuit and the investigation by the Inspector General. Ask my eight-year-old daughter about the “Butterfly Effect” and she’ll spin a yarn about time travel, and how one event can send out ripples that irrevocably change the future. On Saturday, November 12, 2016, the UFC came to Madison Square Garden for the first time, came to New York for the first time since the 1997 ban on pro mixed martial arts. They had to pay over $40,000 to insure the fighters, an amount heretofore unheard of in combat sports, and they had to work with an athletic commission that had never before sanctioned fights in an octagon-shaped cage.

Abdulsalamov never saw that butterfly land on him on that night three years ago. But it did. And New York would never be the same.

The McGregor Fans Celebrating Outside MSG

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UFC 205: Press Life

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UFC 205 Predictions by CV Sports

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I'm all about spreading the love, so here's something CV Sports sent me.

Weigh-Ins - An Hour Before the Madness

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Eddie and Conor Scuffled With a Chair, Because of Course They Did

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New York Gets the Fight It Deserves

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Conor McGregor Gets Both Belts

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Times Square Billboard, Baby

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Khabib Nurmagomedov Talks Injured Boxer Abdulsalamov and Athletic Commission

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Turns out UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov grew up with Russian boxer Magomed Abdulsalamov, who suffered brain damage a couple years ago after a bout at Madison Square Garden that saw the New York State Athletic Commission drop the ball in giving him postfight care. Abdulsalamov's plight, and the NYSAC's inaction, are the reason why there's a $1 million brain injury insurance coverage requirement in New York.

A Look Inside the UFC 205 Media Day Setup

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UFC 205 media day. Where men are men and girls are a welcome relief.

Some Irish Dude...

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Wonderboy Practicing His Katas

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Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk Hitting the Mitts

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Champ Eddie Alvarez Showing the Fans Some Love

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The Most Beautiful Thing In The World

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Check Out This Sweet UFC 205 Fanzine

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Champions Fanzine. That's what's up. Oh, and look who wrote the first story in it...

The Definitive UFC 205 in NYC Fight Week Itinerary

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The UFC in New York City! UFC 205, breaking ground at Madison Square Garden! Dogs and cats, living together - Mass hysteria! Yes, folks, the very thing we've been waiting 20 years for is finally happening, and just like in days of yore when the circus came to town, the week leading up to this momentous, magnificent occasion will be jam-packed with activities and gatherings guaranteed to whet the appetite of any - and every - fight fan. So of course, as I am wont to do, I've compiled a list of the daily goings-on leading up to the epic UFC at MSG itself.

Not listed are the afterparties - and there will surely be plenty of them - but I'm an old, boring man who will be seeking the comforts of his bed after a post-UFC 205 press conference that likely won't end until 3am, so whatevs. Also not listed: all the fighter-led seminars at local gyms on Monday, Nov. 14, and there are a few of those.

UFC 205 Poster Is All That and Then Some

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It's September 1 - The Following Things Are Now Illegal in New York

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September 1 is upon us, and with it comes the dawn of a new age in New York combative sports. That's right, folks, the legislative bill Governor Andrew Cuomo signed back in April - you remember, the one lifting the 1997 ban on professional MMA bouts - officially takes effect today. So what does that mean?

Obviously, it means there will soon be UFC events at Madison Square Garden (and at the Times Union Center in Albany), as well as WSOFs, ROCs, CFFCs and others making at least one or two appearances in the Empire State. It also means a lot of continued fretting about the new million-dollar brain injury insurance policy requirement, and lamenting by the boxing industry. But perhaps most important, it means there are a bunch of things suddenly made illegal by the new law.

Because I'm all about keeping my beloved New York brethren informed, I've made a list of things that will violate either the law or the brand-spanking new rules and regulations the New York State Athletic Commission voted into existence just yesterday. Do these things at your peril!