The UFC booking Toronto’s Rogers Centre in March 2011 is simply a political pressure tactic, not a guarantee of an actual event
It appears that the UFC’s “major announcement” expected Tuesday in Toronto is that the promotion will indeed open a Canadian office, giving it an important beach head in the Great White North. At least, that’s the conventional wisdom.
Joe Ferraro over at Sportsnet.ca has added a new knot with news that the UFC has booked the Rogers Centre for March 26, 2011.
I’m not one to doubt Ferraro – if his sources say this is happening, then it’s probably happening. Although who would actually pony up hundreds of dollars to sit in the 65,000-seat stadium to watch two sweaty specks roll around on a tiny cage a football field away is beyond me. Sitting in the 200-level seats at Montreal’s 20,000-seat Bell Centre is bad enough. You have a bad seat in the old Skydome, or even a moderately okay one, and you’d be better off watching the action through the glass floor of the CN Tower.
Now, you can take the news of a March 2011 UFC event as good news, a clear sign that UFC prez Dana White is confident that the sport will be sanctioned in the province sometime in the next 10 months. Or not. And I’m leaning toward not.
Now, hear me out. All the UFC has done is make a reservation at the roomiest hotel in town. That’s it. Doesn’t mean they’re actually going to spend the night. Doesn’t mean they even think they’re going to spend the night. In fact, there’s a very good chance that planting their flag on a specific date is intended solely to put the heat on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Suddenly every MMA fan in the province is expecting to see a card in Toronto come May 26. They want it, demand it, beg for it, plead for it. And if it doesn’t happen, it’ll be like not getting that air rifle they always wanted for Christmas. And McGuinty becomes the Grinch.
It’s a brilliant tactical move by a promotion thus far stymied and frustrated by the snail-like progress to get the sport sanctioned in its (potentially) biggest marketplace. But it doesn’t mean the UFC is actually coming to town. Right now, that possibility is as real a Santa Claus.
3 comments
“But it doesn’t mean the UFC is actually coming to town. Right now, that possibility is as real a Santa Claus.”
When you see Santa Claus tell him I said “Hi”. MMA has been sanctioned in Canada.
“Suddenly every MMA fan in the province is expecting to see a card in Toronto come May 26. They want it, demand it…”
You nay say MMA – but boxing is perfectly fine. Two guys beating on each others heads. MMA USES MARTIAL ARTS and high skilled and technical techniques. Sometimes it can be brutal – but these are ATHLETE grade fighters. They have a strict regiment and they even WEIGH THEIR FOOD. The damage a normal person would receive is different to what they have been training for.
Also there’s a level of competition. I’m going to pitt my skills in various martial arts – and the best man wins. If it’s too much for someone they can easily tap out.
People love MMA. It combines the martial arts from all over the world. It has the power to influence kids on the streets – sometimes being pulled into MMA living a structured life and a place to release life’s anxieties. It might also keep people out of trouble.
But if you’re a simple person. If you think this is violent you’re always available to your opinions and so is anyone else. I’m just stating the fact that I love this sport. Athletes from all over the world pitting themselves against each other in a cage – usually a very strategic game based on their crafts or multiple crafts they have learned over the years.
I’m done my rant. Open your mind sometimes – the blinders sometimes makes people jump to conclusions without actually doing any research into the topic.
If u could inform me where tickets will be sold and when ill be sure to camp out for as long as it takes to be first in line
Dude, that story was from May, when the likelihood of seeing a UFC event in Toronto was as likely as Santa Claus. I’m happy as hell that things have changed, but everybody – including us guys who cover the sport day-to-day – were surprised by the sudden about-face last week. And I have no idea what you’re talking about re. boxing. This is an MMA site, for fuck’s sake, so obviously I’m pro-MMA and am fully aware of the intricacies of the sport. I fucking train in the sport. The point was that boxing was regulated, so why not MMA.
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