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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief While the UFC has run two events in Canada at the Bell Centre in Montreal, fans on the other side of the country could be getting their first taste of the UFC experience in 2010. At Thursday's UFC 102 pre-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White stated, "We're going to Vancouver. We'll be there soon ... Let's just say we got it done."
White said nothing had been announced outside of him letting it out early, but UFC officials were in Vancouver this week to meet with B.C. Attorney General Mike de Jong, according to a report from SportsNet.ca. The organization still has to get the "OK" from the Vancouver City Council.
UFC's vice-president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner addressed a "big picture" goal for the UFC in Canada, stating "The long-range goal is go up to Ottawa and have the Criminal Code amended to include mixed martial arts and kickboxing so there's no question of what's going on [at events]." Currently the code's wording allows for boxing contests and Vancouver had halted allowing MMA while they researched issues surrounding the sport. The organization is shooting for a June date for 2010 in Vancouver, with a plan to go to Toronto next year as well.
Penick's Analysis: Canadian fans are a huge market for the UFC. As evidenced by the record setting attendance for the events in Montreal and the large contingent of fans who have traveled to events in the states. That group was clearly evident at UFC 87 in Minneapolis, with a massive amount of Canadian fans making the much shorter trek to Minnesota. Getting into Vancouver and Toronto is a major deal and will bring major fights to the Canadian fans next year. They know when they've got a good thing, and like they've said before, Canada may be the "Mecca of mixed martial arts," it's just not been tapped to its fullest potential.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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