From AP:

"I don't think it's any more dangerous than football," said Sen. Lee Bright, R-Roebuck, noting some of his friends are "huge fans." He said he was shocked during a recent visit to the coast, as lines formed to get into a restaurant broadcasting a contest.

The proposal, approved by a Senate panel after no one spoke against it, would lift the ban and put the sport under the regulation of the state Athletic Commission. The measure is set for a vote Thursday in the full Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. The House approved the bill in February.

Finally, someone gets it without forming opinions based off others perceptions.  So you North Carolina fighters that are looking for fights, it's only a matter of time before you'll be able to cross the border and show your skills.  Now, if we could just get New York done.