"Banned" is a Misnomer
There is a common misconception that most states had banned mixed martial arts until Zuffa bought the UFC and got the Nevada State Athletic Commission to sanction it. (Note: the linked article is just a retrospective illustrating the purchase; its author, Todd Martin, has no such misconception.) In fact, most states' athletic commissions simply had not issued rules to oversee the sport. A notable exception is New York, which did actually ban professional MMA in 1997. (New York, like Iowa, continues to allow amateur MMA with a "hands off" approach.)
Because the UFC will not put on shows where they are not under the auspices of an athletic commission that particular organization is, in effect, still banned in a few states where MMA is legal, but not regulated. These states include Massachusetts, although momentum is turning in the Bay State. Other promoters have no such policy, and sometimes go to states like Alabama (which had no commission until May 7, 2009) to promote fights that had been rejected by other states' athletic commissions.
