The General Assembly of Rhode Island voted on October 29 to pass Act S 0622, permitting mixed martial arts competition in the state. This bill is significant, not only due to its showcasing of the changing attitudes towards the sport in the American Northeast, but due to some specific provisions in the law as to how the sport will be overseen.

With the growth in popularity mixed martial arts has experienced over the past few years, promoters and fighters have fought to overcome regulatory hurdles and encourage athletic commissions to sanction events. Following a July decision by the athletic commission, Maryland has become the 35th state to legalize and sanction mixed martial arts competition. The state's first event, put on by new organization "Shogun Fights," was held on October 24 in Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena. Both the event and the movement supporting regulation were lead by local trainer John Rallo who has a long history in the sport. "I have been involved in MMA since 1998. It is a great sport, with great athletes."

“Essentially, we just ran out of time,” was the explanation from a staffer for New York State Assem- blyman Steve Englebright on the failure to pass a bill legalizing and regulating Mixed Martial Arts in the state during the past legislative session. Governor David Patterson called the state Senate into an emergency session to break a leg- islative deadlock resulting from several members alternating between political parties. As a result, the focus of the session will be on high-priority bills including city budgets and same-sex marriage, while less-priority bills including the regulation of mixed martial arts will be deferred to the following year.