New Yorkers smack down Gov. Paterson\'s plan to legalize ultimate fighting: poll

ALBANY : New Yorkers have given a swift kick to Gov. Paterson\'s plans to legalize ultimate fighting.

Sixty eight percent of state voters oppose Paterson\'s proposal to allow ultimate fighting - also known as mixed martial arts and its controversial steelcage matches as a way to generate much needed revenue, according to a new Marist poll.

Even among those groups who are more supportive, it still doesn\'t run up the score,\" said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Poll. Male voters opposed Paterson\'s proposal 55% to 43%, while females punched out the plan by a margin of 82% to 15%, according to Marist.

Even among younger voters aged 18 to 29, the plan could only generate a 50% approval rating, Miringoff said.

I think people find it too much on the violent side and not enough on the revenue side to matter,\" Miringoff said.

New York banned the sport in 1997 at the urging of then-Gov. George Pataki, who called it barbaric. Pataki has since changed his stance and come out in favor of Paterson\'s proposal.

Paterson argued that new regulations have made the sport safer. His budget projects raising $2.1 million from taxes on ultimate fighting matches.

Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for the Ultimate Fighting Championship league, said she wasn\'t shocked by the poll.

We understand that not everyone is going to be a fan of mixed martial arts, but UFC sells out arenas coast to coast and would do the same in New York and the tax revenue and economic impact of those events would benefit all New Yorkers,\" Wood said.
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