Fighters like Matt Serra and Phillipe Nover have never fought in their home state of New York. Mixed martial arts events have been illegal there for years.

But filmmaker Bobby Razak is trying to get that changed in New York, as he is in the process of making a film entitled "Legalize MMA," which looks at the changes in MMA history, and the challenges that New York and Canada face in trying to get the sport legalized.

Last year, there was talk that an New York bill to legalize MMA would be passed in early 2010 so that a UFC event could take place in Madison Square Garden, but that did not happen. The New York State Assembly is far from making that happen, as they have met minority opposition.

"I love MMA," Razak told FIGHT Magazine in an interview last year. "I support MMA. I want it to be legal everywhere. I love New York State. I'm working in New York all the time. I would love to go - it's my dream to always go to Madison Square Garden and watch a fight."

In November 2009, Massachusetts passed a bill that allowed MMA events to be legally sanctioned in the state. The UFC has since planned an event to take place in Boston at the end of the summer.

Hopefully, New York will be able to pass a similar law that will allow mixed martial arts events to take place in the state. Massachusetts was the 42nd state to make MMA fights legal, and Razak is trying to make New York the 43rd.