Randy Gordon, former NYS athletic commission chair, in favor of legalizing MMA
SiriusXM broadcasters Gerry Cooney, left, and Randy Gordon comment during live coverage of Premier Boxing Champions bout of Andy Lee vs. Peter Quillin at Barclays Center on April 11, 2015 in Brooklyn. Credit: Getty Images
Randy Gordon first watched mixed martial arts more than 20 years ago, hated what he saw and soon helped ban it during his time as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission in the mid 1990s.
That ban remains in place despite years of efforts to legalize it in the state.
But Gordon -- now a boxing host and analyst for SiriusXM Satellite Radio -- long since has come around on the subject, thanks largely to reforms and rules changes.
"I do love it now," he said. "I am 1,000 percent in favor of [legalizing it]."
Gordon said UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey's well-received lobbying last month in Albany in favor of legalization, along with a changing political landscape have made him optimistic the ban will be overturned within the year.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
