The UFC is returning to Toronto for UFC 140, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, less than eight months after making its debut in the market in April for the record-breaking UFC 129 event.
However, this time around, the organization will be setting up shop at the Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, not the cavernous Rogers Centre.
“We felt that this was the right move our second time back here,” UFC president Dana White said at a press conference in Toronto on Wednesday.
UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields set UFC and North American MMA records with a 55,724 attendance and a $12.075 million gate ($11.5 million Canadian).
White was asked on Wednesday whether the UFC would consider holding another mega-show at Rogers Centre, and considering how successful the first one was, it’s no surprise his answer was yes.
“We’ll do another massive fight here when we have the right fight,” White said.
“Vegas has always been known as the fight capital of the world, well in our sport, Toronto is becoming well known for that. So, yes, we’ll do another major fight (in Toronto) and do it like we did last time.”
The UFC president has often called Canada “the Mecca of MMA,” and despite the promotion’s packed schedule, this marks the second year in a row that the UFC will visit the Great White North three times in a calendar year. And plans are already in place to hold an event in Montreal, site of four previous UFC events, in the first quarter of 2012.
“This is without a doubt the strongest market on the planet,” White said.
UFC 140 tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday, Oct. 15, and the arena is expected to be configured for approximately 20,000 fans. Ticket prices will range between $700 and $85.