UFC books Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12 for first New York card

Minutes after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing mixed martial arts in his state, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced it has booked Madison Square Garden for a Nov. 12 debut fight card.

UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta confirmed the date to The Times, adding that he doesn’t have fighters set yet given the time away from the date, but he’s said previously the card will be massive and a pay-per-view event.

New York’s Assembly last month passed legislation to override a law that banned MMA in the state, depriving the UFC of staging events in the nation’s largest media market, which offers venues like the Garden and Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Culinary union Local No. 226 in Las Vegas, which opposed the nonunion policy of Fertitta’s at his Station Casino properties in Nevada, lobbied New York politicians for years to keep MMA banned in the state following the prior legislation that stemmed from the outcry over the “no-rules” type of cage-fighting that preceded Fertitta’s purchase of the company.

Former UFC champions Jon Jones, the organization’s No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, and Chris Weidman have lobbied to fight at the debut New York card.

Jones fights April 23 for the interim light-heavyweight belt and could have a rematch with injured champion Daniel Cormier on the Madison Square Garden card.

Weidman has said he badly wants to recapture his middleweight belt on June 4 at the Forum against Luke Rockhold and defend his title in his home state.

The timing also could set up the return of Ronda Rousey, the former women’s bantamweight champion from Venice, who suffered her first loss in November 2015 to Holly Holm.

A Bellator official said the organization is seeking to place a talent-laden card at Barclays Center, eyeing a date before Nov. 12.

UFC will add another live event in upstate New York before the end of the year. The organization has pledged four events per year for the first three years after passage of the bill. The events will be held in upstate cities such as Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica and Albany, in addition to Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center.

“I want to thank Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, Senator Joe Griffo and the many other leaders in the state of New York for legalizing and regulating the sport of mixed martial arts,” Fertitta said in a prepared statement. “Our commitment to bringing incredible live events to New York starts immediately, as we’ve planned a major pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12. It’s going to be a historic, monumental moment for this sport and our passionate fans when the octagon finally arrives in New York.”