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If you’re an MMA fan hanging out in Manhattan on Tuesday, you have your agenda covered. The UFC is holding a press conference free and open to the public at 11 a.m. at Radio City Music Hall to promote UFC on Fox 3, May 5 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. UFC president Dana White will be in attendance along with main event fighters Jim Miller (Whippany, N.J.) and Nate Diaz. Welterweight opponents Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks will participate along with heavyweights Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson. Middleweight Alan Belcher, scheduled to face Rousimar Palhares, will also be on hand to answer questions.
The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative UFC T-shirt. Tickers for UFC on Fox 3 go on sale Friday, March 9 at 10 a.m. ET, are priced at $250, $150, $100, $75 and $50, and are available at the IZOD Center box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000. If you’re a UFC Fight Club member, you can purchase your seats on Wednesday at UFCFightClub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday starting at 10 a.m. ET
In addition, the Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York will hold a rally from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in front of Governor Andrew Cuomo's office at 633 Third Avenue (between 40th and 41st streets). The group’s is also hosing a film festival beginning at 4 p.m. at the Theater Lobby at Madison Square Garden.
Between Ronda Rousey’s electric victory over Miesha Tate Saturday night in Columbus and the surge of local talent that will compete in New Jersey, MMA is continuing its takeover of the mainstream public’s consciousnesses. It’s enough to give Albany’s politicians a collective headache. Whether enough common sense to sanction the sport registers through their thick skulls remains to be seen, but the UFC and its New York fan base certainly aren’t going away.
Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC