DFW loves Canada, optimistic on Ontario
UFC president Dana White rolls into Toronto on Tuesday, looking to give mixed martial arts fans a taste of the…
UFC president Dana White rolls into Toronto on Tuesday, looking to give mixed martial arts fans a taste of the UFC while reminding local authorities of the popularity of the sport.
With Montreal slated to hold a UFC event in May for a third straight year and Vancouver coming on board in June, Ontario is the major Canadian holdout left for the UFC. In February, however, Premier Dalton McGuinty said sanctioning MMA was not high on his list.
“It’s just not a priority for us at this point in time, we have higher priorities when it comes to developing those jobs and strengthening the economy,” McGuinty said.
White remains optimistic, despite McGuinty’s comments.
“The way that I took his comments were ‘I’m running the government here and there’s a lot of things that I’m working on and this isn’t on the top of the list,”‘ White told The Canadian Press. “He didn’t say no and he didn’t say it’s not going to happen.”
“But there’s just so many rabid MMA fans,” he added. “I bet this guy is so sick about hearing about MMA.”
Asked if the sport will eventually get sanctioned, White said: “Absolutely.”
The UFC boss calls his visit a thank you to Canada.
“I say it all the time, how much I love the fans from Canada,” he said. “Not only do I love the fans in Canada, I love the media too. The media up there is so great and way ahead of the United States and everywhere else. They treat the sport the way that it should be. I love Canada, period.”
“Brock might not, but I do,” he added, referring to heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who dumped on Canadian health care recently.
