The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make a "major announcement in Canada" on Tuesday and speculation is running rampant as to what will be shared at this news conference, which will be held at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. UFC president Dana White will host the presser and will be joined by UFC chairman, CEO and majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta.
Many people are holding their breath with the thought the news is likely what everyone has been waiting for -- that the UFC was successful in changing regulations in Ontario, and that the sport has been sanctioned, and that a UFC event will likely be taking place in the very near future.
Other thoughts are that Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, featuring welterweight champion and Canada's own Georges St-Pierre as a coach opposite Josh Koscheck, will be filmed in Canada. And if MMA really has become sanctioned in Ontario, the two would likely lock horns at the Rogers Centre later this year.
Perhaps both may be true and will actually come to fruition. But maybe the UFC, in their current mode of global expansion, is about thinking something else. Maybe the time has come to open an office in Canada, which White often refers to as the "mecca of MMA."
The organization sees how big the sport truly is here, especially considering the vast amount of mainstream media that attends their various public engagements.
Prior to GSP's last fight at UFC 111, the organization held a fan Q&A session at Toronto's Eaton Centre. The event was not only attended by hundreds of fans, it was covered by many major media organizations spanning every type of platform.
Like they have done overseas in the U.K., I would not be surprised if the UFC announces the opening of "UFC Canada," an office that will handle many of the current responsibilities that fall upon the staff residing in Las Vegas. Sources are telling me that former president of WWE Canada Carl DeMarco has approached the UFC about heading an office in Canada.
There are also whispers running rampant about former executive president of WWE Global Media Shane McMahon wanting a UFC office in Toronto, with him also suggesting the organization open an East Coast office in New York City. It was reported late last year that "Shane-O-Mac" was looking to become a minority owner in the UFC, and it is rumoured he has now approached the organization in hopes of buying a 5-10 per cent stake.
If news of the office openings turn out to be true, one can just imagine how close the organization truly feels about the sanctioning of the sport in Ontario, and New York for that matter. They must be close, or maybe, it's already done.
Source: sportsnet.ca
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