Good news on the politics front, MMA fans. New York assemblyman Bob Reilly, the human-size deer tick who toiled diligently to prevent MMA from being legalized in New York state, thereby keeping the sport underground and unregulated (not to mention unremunerative for the polis), is stepping down, according to the Times…

Way back when (circa 2000), MMA was banned in many states. In the places where it was legal, the bloodsport was regulated with varying degrees of competency. Today, the MMA map looks quite different as sanctioning and better rules have spread across the land. With one notable holdout.