Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl – C’mon NY!  Step it up! I’d love to see a fight at MSG!

West Virginia has become the 45th state in the U.S. to regulate mixed martial arts.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed the bill on Thursday. The state’s Senate voted 23-10 in favor of the bill and the House 71-26.

Of states that have athletic commissions, three — Connecticut, Vermont and New York — remain that do not regulate the sport. Alaska and Wyoming do not have sanctioning athletic bodies.

The UFC, which has invested enormous resources in seeing the sport sanctioned worldwide, distributed a release Thursday regarding the announcement.

“We’ve worked hard to get this sport regulated all over the world, particularly in the United States,” UFC president Dana White said in the release. “I’m really excited to see the sport regulated in West Virginia and look forward to one day bringing a UFC event there.”

Current UFC bantamweight and former WEC champion Brian Bowles also commented on the news. Bowles’s hometown is Charleston, W. Va., the state’s capital.

“All of my friends and family in West Virginia always ask when they’re going to get to see me fight in my home state,” Bowles said. “Now that the sport is regulated there, I am excited to know that I could one day compete in the Octagon in West Virginia.”

Brett Okamoto covers mixed martial arts for ESPN.com.