UFC shooting for late April Ontario debut, want 40-50k attendance
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has tentative plans for three pay-per-view events in Canada in 2011, including its debut in Toronto…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has tentative plans for three pay-per-view events in Canada in 2011, including its debut in Toronto that could happen as soon as April, according to both the company’s Canadian president and its CEO.
Speaking at a Fan Expo in England earlier this month, CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said UFC is looking to try and do the Rogers Centre in Toronto in late-April. He said the company has considered Air Canada Centre, home of the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors, but we want to break the record for attendance to MMA. We’ll try to get about 40,000-50,000 people there . . . We definitely want to put on a big show, and we’ll probably have a title shot on that card. UFC Canada president Tom Wright said last week the company was also considering a two-day Fan Expo to coincide with its Toronto debut.
UFC pay-per-views are held almost exclusively on Saturday nights. The major tenant at Rogers Centre — the Toronto Blue Jays — have Saturday home games on April 2 and 23, as well as May 7. The Blue Jays are on the road for Saturday games April 9, 16 and 30.
Wright knows how huge the interest is for an event in Toronto — in terms of pay-per-view buys, television ratings and ticket purchases for UFC events, the city is one of the company’s top markets in the world. That interest can also lead to rumours flying fast and furious, he noted.
The day the Ontario government announced their sanctioning, which was Aug. 14, I was driving to an interview and heard that March 14 was the date (for a Toronto debut). I’m thinking to myself, ‘That’s going to be interesting because I can guarantee that’s not the date,’ he said with a laugh.