The UFC will hold five events in Canada in 2014 as the promotion will visit Quebec City, Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal.
Tom Wright, the UFC’s director of operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, made the announcement at a press conference in Quebec City Wednesday.
“Last year was a banner year for the UFC but Canada is set to break new ground in 2014 as we’re literally going from coast to coast with events stretching between Nova Scotia and British Columbia,” Wright stated. “We’re excited to bring our fans five live UFC events north of the border in 2014.”
The first Canadian event of 2014 will be the TUF Nations Finale on April 16 at the Colisée Pepsi—the former home of the Quebec Nordiques—in Quebec City. The province of Quebec is a hotbed for MMA talent and fans in Canada and the UFC has hosted six events in the province, but they’ve all been in Montreal at the Bell Centre.
On June 14, the UFC will return to Vancouver for the first time in three years with UFC 174. Vancouver hosted two previous events—UFC 115 and UFC 131—during a two-year trial period where MMA was sanctioned.
On Sept. 27, the UFC returns to Toronto for a fifth time when UFC 178 takes place at the Air Canada Centre.
On Oct. 4, the UFC will make its debut in Halifax at the Metro Centre. This event will be a free, televised Fight Night card.
Finally, on the Dec. 6 at UFC 181, the promotion hosts its seventh event at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
To date, the organization has held 14 events in Canada since April 2008 with a cumulative gross gate of close to $60M, according to the promotion. The UFC has held three events in Canada in each of the last two years. In addition to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, the UFC has held events in Calgary (UFC 149) and Winnipeg (UFC 161).
As part of the UFC Community Works program, the organization also announced it will visit four Canadian cities this year in 2014 to host interactive UFC Experience fan events and exclusive viewing parties. The cities are still to be determined but the promotion says they’ll take place between May and August and visit smaller communities in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
3 comments:
Disappointed to hear no Sask card and no return to Calgary or Winnipeg. I thought Dana White said he owed Calgary another card because injury spoiled the one they had.
UFC can stay at home, but send Arianne and Britney to a Riders game for an autograph session!
Rick
Wright also announced that the UFC will visit other areas of Canada as part of the UFC Experience -- a exhibition which allows fans to get up close and personal with the fighters -- this summer. Among the cities that the UFC Experience will visit are Regina, Saskatchewan, Kelowna, British Columbia, London, Ontario and Lethbridge, Alberta.
So something to look forward to in the Queen City.
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