Once more, with feeling.

The New York State Senate has voted to pass bill S.1707-A, which proposes the legalization and regulation of mixed martial arts competition in the state. It is the third time that a bill containing provisions for MMA regulation has been passed by the senate. So far, these bills have not been passed by the Assembly, largely due to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s hesitance to regulate MMA (though, he may be softening his stance).

Having pledged a ton of resources to the cause of MMA legalization in New York over recent years, the UFC sent out a press release thanking the NY State Senate for passing another mixed martial arts bill.

“We would like to thank the New York State Senate for passing the bill to legalize and regulate MMA for the third time in the last three years,” UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said in the release. “We are hopeful the third time will be the charm with the State Assembly. The bill received overwhelming and bipartisan support and we would especially like to recognize the leadership of the Senate sponsor Joseph Griffo.

“Over the next two months, we will focus our efforts on convincing Assembly leadership that this bill, now sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Morelle – who is a Monroe County native just like UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones – should be brought to the floor of the Assembly for a vote, where we are convinced it will have strong bipartisan support.”

Now, the fate of MMA in New York once again rests on Mr. Silver.