Imagine, for a moment, traveling back in time to 1997, when New York enacted a state-wide ban on mixed martial arts, which set the dominoes in motion that nearly killed the sport just as it was getting off the ground. When you travel back, you tell people that just more than two decades down the road, the most popular boxer in the world would have his fight in Las Vegas delayed until the 500th event in UFC history ended at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. Now add in the fact the President of the United States was in attendance, as well as arguably Hollywood’s biggest star. The 1997 people’s heads would likely explode, and that’s before you let them know the President in 2019 is Donald Trump. The scene described, however, was exactly what played out Saturday night at UFC 244 under Gotham’s intense spotlight. And while the main event of Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz ended on a down note, with an overly zealous New York State Athletic Commission cageside doctor waving the fight off due to cuts over Diaz’s right eye that probably wouldn’t have ended things in most jurisdictions, it still doesn’t detract from the magnitude of the occasion.
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Despite downer ending, UFC 244 was a landmark event in MMA history | Opinion – MMA Junkie