New York State Assemblyman Bob Reilly, the crusty politician who has vehemently opposed the sanctioning of Mixed Martial Arts, said on Monday he will not run for a fifth term.

"I believe a limited term of service is integral to the concept of a citizen legislator," Reilly said in a statement. "I do not want to morph into a professional politician."

Now the bad news: The assembly of a UFC Octagon in Madison Square Garden is far from a sure thing.

Reason being, Reilly is ultimately a stooge to the pol with the most power, Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver, and Silver supports Reilly's contention that MMA has a "negative impact on children, adults and our society as a whole," which in turn would negatively affect New York State's economics.

Yes, that's what the man said.

MMAFighting.com Senior Writer Mike Chiappetta has the complete lowdown, where he writes that the annual bid to legalize the Empire is once again expected to be denied. Of course, Wyoming became America's 45th state to regulate MMA with Governor Matt Mead recently signed into law House Bill 87. The UFC is preparing another all-out blitz -- president Dana White vowed last Tuesday that "we're going to keep grinding and grinding and grinding until we get this done" -- but as long as Silver remains on the throne, he'll have to be open to a new point of view. And that will be the UFC's ultimate challenge.

-- Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC