New York is unlikely to legalize mixed martial arts this year. Opposition from Speaker of the State Assembly Sheldon Silver appears key in a likely halt on proposed legislation to sanction the sport in New York despite overwhelming passage in the state Senate.

"There does not appear to be widespread support in the Assembly for this legislation," Speaker Silver recently told the NY Daily News.

This comment, as fellow Democrat Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi points out, seems to fly in the face of logic and indeed appears, "illogical and irrational" after the legislation passed overwhelmingly in both a key committee (16-3) and the Senate itself (42-18).

The UFC has already committed to putting on two events in New York if and when the sport is sanctioned there within a year of the sanction; the result of which stands to raise the cash-strapped state 16 million dollars in revenue.

MMA is generating big business as evidenced by the recent upsurge in revenue generated by online betting. The best poker rooms are generating tons of revenue and betting and online poker have become a way for states to generate income in financially difficult times.

At the moment though, it appears that New York is content to pass on the financial help this time around in lieu of a misguided set of principals rooted in ignorance and misunderstanding.

MMA is currently legal in 47 out of the 50 states. It will be legalized in New York at some point in the future, but at this point, it looks like fans of the sport will have to try again next year.