New York remains the only state in the nation not to sanction professional mixed martial arts, but the UFC is going through with plans to hold its first event at Madison Square Garden on April 23 with the main event featuring former light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones trying to get his title back from current champion Daniel Cormier.

“It would be epic. It would be huge,” said UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

The UFC has contracted the date at the Garden with the anticipation of there being a resolution in the UFC’s long-running effort to get MMA legalized in the Empire State. Ideally, the state legislature finally will pass a bill to regulate the popular sport through the New York State Athletic Commission.

In the meantime, the UFC filed suit with the US Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit arguing the state’s prohibition of regulated professional MMA events violates the First Amendment right of athletes and fans. The UFC also has filed in federal court calling the ban of MMA unconstitutional.

“We’re hopeful this year might be the year,” Fertitta said. “I know we’ve said that many times. But we’re hopeful the bill will not only be introduced for a vote this year, but it will happen early in the session.”

If professional MMA is not legalized by the Assembly in time to begin promoting the April event, the UFC will seek a preliminary injunction against New York from enforcing its “unconstitutional” law.

“Hopefully, there will be a decision on it by the middle of January,” Fertitta said.

UFC on Fox 18 will take place Jan. 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark, the latest in a number of MMA events held in New Jersey, one of the first states to regulate the sport and benefit from its rising popularity.

A 2014 independent study suggested two UFC events could generate as much as $23 million in revenue for New York. Yet, a few hard-headed lawmakers and a special interest group have kept the issue from reaching a vote on the Assembly floor in New York. Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver did all he could to oppose MMA and a culinary union in Las Vegas apparently has enough clout in New York to stall MMA progress.

Fertitta owns the largest non-union casino company in Las Vegas, and the culinary union wants to force unionization in Nevada by lobbying against UFC’s efforts in New York.

“They’re looking for leverage against me and my brother,” Fertitta said.

Bones-Cormier would be a quick sellout. Jones once was considered the most dominant fighter in the sport. A native of Endicott, New York, he became the youngest champion in UFC at age 23 when he won the belt at UFC 128 in 2011. But he was stripped of his title and suspended from the UFC in April following his arrest on felony hit-and-run charges in Albuquerque, NM. It had followed incidents where Jones was arrested for DUI in 2012 and earlier this year tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine.

News of the failed drug test was not revealed until three days after Jones defeated Cormier by unanimous decision at UFC 182 in January. Cormier later defeated Anthony Johnson to win the vacant title.

Jones (21-1) was given 18 months of supervised probation. He was reinstated into the UFC in October and helped Holly Holm train for her recent upset of Ronda Rousey.

“He seems like he’s in a really good place,” Fertitta said. “Obviously, he’s had some issues that he’s had to deal with. But even with that, what he’s been able to achieve in the Octagon has been pretty impressive. Now that you have a guy completely dedicated to his career, completely dedicated to his training. It’s going to be scary how good he is.”