NEF Promoter Matt Peterson Re-Elected to Maine House of Representatives

---

Matt Peterson, the man primarily responsible for the legalization of mixed martial arts in Maine, was re-elected to the state’s House of Representatives on Tuesday.

According to the Bangor Daily News, Peterson garnered 68.76 percent of the vote to defeat Terrence L. Magee and win his seat at Maine House District 115. Peterson, who became a quadriplegic after falling out of a five-story window during college, was first elected to Maine’s 151-member House of Representatives in 2008.

Currently the promoter for New England Fights, Peterson’s greatest contribution to the Maine MMA scene occurred the year he was elected. Peterson created and sponsored a bill legalizing MMA in Maine, and it passed during the first legislative session.

“He was the right guy to push it and got it right to the legislature,” Marc Ratner, UFC vice president of regulatory affairs, told Sherdog.com in 2012. “We’re still fighting to even get a vote in the New York legislature, so Maine was very, very well done by Matt in pushing it. We had absolutely no problems, and it just sailed through.”

The fruit of Peterson’s labor truly paid off this past August, when the Octagon touched down in Bangor for UFC Fight Night “Bader vs. St. Preux,” the first time the Las Vegas-based promotion had held an event in the state.

Meanwhile, NEF’s next event is scheduled for Nov. 15 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. The promotion’s inaugural card took place on Feb. 11, 2012.