Ultimate Fighter

Gov. Patrick, in the zone.

Mixed martial arts took another step toward regulation in Massachusetts last week. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted 114-10 to engross a bill that would sanction the sport.

This represents a second wave of support for MMA regulation, following a 34-1 vote by the state Senate in July. The bill was modified slightly by the House and now goes back to the Senate.

The Senate will now vote on the bill, as will the House before it proceeds to Gov. Deval Patrick to be signed into law. Considering the overwhelming support shown in the initial voting, those steps don’t figure to be major hurdles. Further, the bill passed by so many votes in both branches that Patrick wouldn’t hold any veto power even if he had expressed opposition.

While enactment is now little more than a formality, the legislative calendar may prevent the bill becoming law before the end of the year.

Once Massachusetts joins the 40 states that regulate MMA, the UFC is expected to move quickly to bring a show to Boston. A UFC event would provide a financial boost to the state, which will receive 4 percent of ticket sales revenue for all shows and up to $75,000 for a televised event.

UPDATE: More from the Patriot Ledger.

SECOND UPDATE: From Michele McPhee and the Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: Please join us Wednesday night at 8:00pm EST for The Notes on Blog Talk Radio! We will begin with a symposium on the first anniversary of President Obama’s victory, and at 8:30pm we will have Richard Brookhiser from National Review!

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