Press Release – Ottawa, Ontario – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® today applauded the House of Commons for passing Bill S-209, an Act that removes the Criminal Code prohibition on professional mixed martial arts (MMA) in Canada. The bill, which passed the third and final reading today, will be enacted after receiving Royal Assent.
“This is a major development for the sport of mixed martial arts as we now have a consistent legislative framework for Canada and its provinces,” said UFC® Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright. “The UFC thanks Senator Bob Runciman for spearheading this initiative and MP Massimo Pacetti for piloting this through the House of Commons. We’re also appreciative of MP Ryan Leef’s support throughout this entire process.”
Bill S-209 is an amendment to Section 83(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada, regulating prize fighting. The amendment clarifies the propriety of promoting mixed martial events throughout Canada. The current section 83 of the Criminal Code had not been updated since 1934.
To date, provincial governments have worked around the law to allow UFC events to take place. Since 2008, the UFC® has hosted a total of 12 Canadian events between four cities: Montreal (six), Toronto (three), Vancouver (two) and Calgary (one). Winnipeg will soon become the UFC’s fifth Canadian city as the MTS Centre hosts the sold out UFC® 161: EVANS VS. HENDERSON on June 15 while Toronto receives its fourth event with UFC® 165 at Air Canada Centre on September 21.
Currently, MMA is sanctioned at a provincial level in British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, while it has been sanctioned on a municipal level within Alberta, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories. The UFC’s goal is to have the sport sanctioned and regulated in all 10 provinces and three territories.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually. The UFC is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world with events distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, moving to FOX Sports 1 in September 2013.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with nearly 2.4 million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs and video games, UFC FIT®, an in-home fitness and nutrition program, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.