The fight for MMA in Ontario continues

Sportsnet’s Showdown Joe Ferraro sits down with Noble Chummar, UFC’s legal counsel in Ontario, to look at the political fight taking place to bring mixed martial arts to Ontario.

Chummar belongs to a committee that is currently working to get the sport regulated in Ontario. According to Chummar, The name of the game is patience. We can’t rush this because it’s too big and UFC completely supports the slow learning process, the slow education process of bringing people on side and we’re working at that pace to make it happen.

UFC had an event in Montreal last April and we know by ticket sales that 42% of the people that attended Montreal came from Ontario, said Chummar. That’s a very big number so a lot of people are leaving the province to simply go and participate in something that is already happening all over the country.

Tim Hudak, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, pledged his support for mixed martial arts saying, Let’s just get on with it. I mean, 40 states allow for mixed martial arts, 5 other provinces. Just direct your Minister to make it happen in the province of Ontario. Let’s bring some tourist dollars to our province.

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