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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
April's UFC 129 event in Toronto is poised to smash the North American record for gate and attendance for an MMA event, as MMAJunkie.com reports that the event has officially sold out for the Rogers Centre.
The event, headlined by a Welterweight Championship bout between Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields, was initially configured for 42,000 fans, but those tickets sold out on the first day of pre-sale this week. The organization made more tickets available for the general public, and as of today the event is fully sold out with nearly 55,000 tickets sold.
It's not likely that the UFC will release any more tickets for the event, as the layout will not allow for much more with them wanting to keep the feel of a UFC event in this new stadium experience. Officials earlier this week stated they believed 50,000 would be their limit, but they've allowed for a bit more over that.
The previous attendance record for the UFC was set at UFC 124 in December in Montreal with 23,152 attendees. The North American attendance record for MMA was set by FEG's Dynamite USA event in 2007 with a reported 42,757 in attendance, although over 90 percent of those tickets were comped.
The record gate for an MMA event in North America is $5.4 million for UFC 66, set back in December of 2006 for the rematch between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.
This event marks the UFC's first ever trip to Toronto, with the Canadian Province of Ontario beginning regulation just this year, and the event will shatter both records.
Penick's Analysis: Although scalpers surely ate up a ton of tickets and will be looking to re-sell them at a much higher premium, the attendance record is going to be well surpassed come fight night. The gate is already shattered with the UFC selling their entire allotment, and it's likely to go well over $10 million for this event. The UFC will be hoping that all goes well for fans and that the experience, while certainly unique, will not be dampened by the stadium. If this event is a hit with fans, you can certainly expect to see the UFC bring a big fight to a major stadium again in the future. Should GSP get past Jake Shields, and should this experience prove to be a hit, you better believe the UFC will be giving Cowboy Stadium a serious look for a fight between Anderson Silva and GSP late in the year. This is a massive achievement for the UFC, and this will be a historic night for the sport and the organization.
UPDATE: Initial reports had the estimated tickets sold at 52,000, but that number has been elevated to 55,000 after UFC officials finished tallying today's ticket sales. The gate is expected to be close to $11 million for this event, more than doubling the previous record for an MMA event.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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