It's up to you, New York: MMA one step closer in Empire State

The Wall Street Journal reports that a bill legalizing and regulating MMA in the state of New York has passed the Senate. It only needs to pass through the Assembly and then be signed by the governor before the bill can become a law.

The Senate passed the MMA bill 32-26. The hope is that a major MMA event can happen in New York City at Madison Square Garden by this fall, but as the UFC's calendar fills up, it might be difficult to get an event up with a marquee headliner under those deadlines.

The UFC will debut in Indianapolis with UFC 119 in September and is rumored to have an event in London in October. It has also mentioned heading back to Germany.

But considering the time, effort and money that the UFC has put into lobbying New York to legalize MMA, you can bet that it won't be the second promotion to put on an event at the Garden.