As you know, I'm a big MMA fan. I follow it as much as I can on television and I usually have posted videos from fights that are knockouts or wins by submission. The reason I'm telling you all this is that this post is a guest post from Brett Jacobs of MMA Industries, who graciously took the time to explain how the state of New York is using MMA to help out with it's budget deficit.

Enjoy the guest post:

The New York state budget has had a hard time fighting off a deficit throughout all of the overall economic problems that have plagued the country. This has caused the state to consider any and all ways to save money and help balance the budget, including closing down state parks and creating food and drink taxes on everyday products like soda. Some of these choices have been met with disdain from people of the state so the Senate continues to look for additional ways to raise money. The hopeful news is that they may have just found the perfect option that gives something back to New Yorkers rather than taking it away.

On June 16^th, the New York State Senate passed a bill to legalize mix martial arts in the state of the New York. It still needs to be approved by the State Assembly in order to be a law, but passing the State Senate is a big deal for both the Empire State and Mixed Martial Arts. MMA, while being legal in many other states around the country, has been banned in New York since the mid-nineties which meant that prime venues like Madison Square Garden in New York City and the 50,000 seat Carrier Dome in Syracuse were off limits for holding MMA events. This would no longer be the case if the assembly passes the bill. Dozens of great venues in the state would be open to new events that would help grow the already popular sport of MMA even further while helping the state make money.

It's hard to imagine that New York state education and other programs would be a direct beneficiary of MMA, but that would be the exact case if the bill passes. Mixed Martial Arts is one of the most popular sports in the country and its popularity grows with every passing day. This would mean that the dozens of sold out shows that MMA has every year would finally bring revenue to New York.

To put the financial benefits of legalizing MMA into perspective, just look at the numbers of the sport according to Fannation.com:

• $340. That was the average ticket price of UFC 81 at the MGM Grand. While this may seem like a lot, people are paying it to see their favorite matches. One could imagine the amount of tax money that would go to directly financing state programs and projects. Also a factor to consider is the amount of revenue brought in by people coming from all across the country for the events that would be spending money on food and accommodations.

• 170 countries broadcast UFC and other MMA events, which brings in huge promotion for some not as well known New York state cities that may hold an event.

• MMA industries like UFC have gone from million dollar companies to billion dollar companies in less than a decade showing just how popular this sport really can be.

These numbers don't even account for New York based MMA gyms that will see new revenue to help train local fighters in a sport that was once outlawed in their home state. This will directly correlate with an increase in local sales of MMA gear, like MMA gloves. Hundreds of retailers will benefit from this boost. The increase in local fan-base will have a direct impact on the sale of MMA t-shirts that display their favorite fighter or industry brand. They have become a hot commodity as the sport has increased in popularity. There is no doubt that the reach of the bill, if passed, is not just huge for New York but is greatly important to its many citizens that are struggling because of the bad economy.

The state and Governor David Paterson have estimated that allowing the sport to be legalized would bring in an extra $2 million after two years for the state's $8 billion deficit and studies have shown that holding an event in Madison Square Garden would generate $11.3 million in economic activity. This may not seem like a lot but it's a step in the right direction for the state. This bill is something that New York has been trying to do for over the last two years but has failed in doing so. Even if the bill doesn't pass the assembly, Governor Paterson has stated he will include it in his emergency extender bill giving it another way to be legalized. Yet, right now is the time for the passing of this bill because now MMA is closer than it's ever been to being a popular and helpful force in the Empire State.

Thanks to Brett Jacobs for taking the time to write this post.

In the main event at UFC 115 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Rich Franklin effectively ended the career of Chuck Liddell when he scored a knock out of Liddell at 4:57 of the first round.

Here's the video for you to enjoy:

In the co-main event at UFC 115 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Mirko Cro Cop beat Patrick Barry at 4:30 of the third round by submitting him with a rear naked choke.

Here's the video for you to enjoy:

In the first bout on the UFC 115 main card at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Carlos Condit scored TKO of hometown boy Rory MacDonald at 4:53 of round 3.

Here's the video for you to enjoy:

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After being throughly dominated for the first two rounds and early part of round 3, Mike Russow delivered the one-punch knockout to Todd Duffee at 2:35 of the third round during UFC 114 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Enjoy the knock out and post-fight interview with Russow:

Alistair Overeem won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship back in November 2007 but was making just his first title defense at Saturday night's Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.

His opponent, Brett Rogers, stated that he would win in the first round by TKO but instead it was Overeem who would win by a TKO at 3:40 of the first round to retain the belt.

Here's the video for you to enjoy.

During Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery at the Scotttrade Center in St. Louis on Saturday night, Roger Gracie submitted Kevin Randleman via a rear naked choke at 4:10 of the second round.

Here's the video for you to enjoy:

During Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery at the Scotttrade Center in St. Louis on Saturday night, Rafael "Feijão" Cavalcante scored a knockout of Antwain Britt at 3:45 of the first round.

Here's the video for you to enjoy:

After losing on a controversial decision at UFC 104 in October 2009 to UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was out for revenge at UFC 113 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

And it was revenge he got as he knocked out Machida at 3:35 of the first round to claim the UFC light heavyweight belt.

Here's the video for you to enjoy:

After Josh Koscheck dominated Paul Daley in the co-main event at UFC 113 in Montreal, Quebec, Daley landed a cheap shot punch to Koscheck's face after the final bell had been rung.

Koscheck won the fight and also will get to coach against George St. Pierre in the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter". Koscheck should also get a title shot against GSP in an upcoming UFC event.

Here's the video of the cheap shot:

Update: At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said that Daley will never fight in the UFC again.