Press Release
TORONTO TO HOST HISTORIC FIRST-EVER ONTARIO EVENT AS THE UFC® HITS THE ROGERS CENTRE APRIL 30, 2011. UFC® FAN EXPO ALSO SCHEDULED TO TAKE OVER TORONTO APRIL 29-30
TORONTO, Ont. (Canada) – UFC® President Dana White has said time and time again that the UFC loves Canada, and that Canadians are among the best and most passionate UFC fans in the world.
Today, in recognition of this great Canadian passion, White and UFC Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright, made the highly anticipated announcement that the Ultimate Fighting Championship® will host its first-ever event in Ontario as the UFC visits Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Saturday, April 30, 2011. The UFC also announced it will host a two-day Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre on April 29 and 30, rounding out what promises to be an historic and record-setting event.
“Canadians have repeatedly shown how much they love the UFC,” said White. “Fans in Ontario have patiently waited and it will pay off as this one will go down in the history books come April 30. I’m very excited – Toronto is going to break the record and host the biggest mixed martial arts event ever in North America.”
“This announcement has been a long time coming and we’re thrilled,” said Wright. “Ontario is obviously a key market as Toronto is one of THE MMA cities in the world,” he added. “We’re very thankful to Premier Dalton McGuinty, Ministers Sophia Aggelonitis and John Gerretsen and the provincial government for their support in sanctioning and regulating the sport.”
The Rogers Centre event will represent Canada’s sixth UFC global Pay-Per-View event following UFC 124 in Montreal on Dec. 11, 2010. Montreal has also hosted three other events (UFC 83, 97 and 113) since April 2008 while Vancouver hosted UFC 115 in June 2010.
The fight card for the April 30th event will be confirmed at a later date while tickets for the event and Fan Expo will go on sale in the New Year. UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets in advance of the on-sale date via UFCFightClub.com.
More information on the UFC Fan Expo can be found by visiting www.ufcfanexpo.com, or, for current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com.