Following the call for a ban on the sport of mixed martial arts from Doctors in British Columbia, Canada. The Dalton McGuinty government in Ontario will now sanction mixed martial arts in that province paving the way for promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship to hold events in Canada’s biggest populated province.
The announcement was made Saturday morning on the provinces Ministry of Consumer Services website.
Ontario is taking steps to allow professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events in the province.
The province would adopt the same rules for professional MMA that are widely used across North America. This announcement paves the way for the first regulated professional MMA event to be held in Ontario in 2011.
UFC president Dana White has coveted the province as one of the last bastions to be conquered by the sport. White has stated many times that the UFC would look to hold an event at the Rogers Centre in Toronto and that the event could be the biggest in the promotions history.
Fans of mma Ontario purchase some of the highest pay-per-view rates for the UFC, and with the announcement fans will get to experience live events first hand. The Ontario government is looking at the economic spin-offs from these events which could attract as many as “30,000 fans and generate up to $6 million in local economic activity – everything from hotel rooms to restaurants and other stores and services.”