Tickets are still available for UFC 154, and UFC officials are baffled as to why the tickets are moving so slowly.
Well, if you ask me, going to Montreal at least once a year may be the problem. If a card with Georges St. Pierre can’t sell almost immediately, you need to stop going there too frequently.
Yes, I understand how important Canada’s business is to the UFC. They have been one of their best customers.
I also realize that there are plenty of other places that are dying for UFC action and don’t nearly get to see it enough because of the repeat visits to places like Montreal.
For as enthusiastic as the fans are in Montreal, going there so often is only going to continue hurting ticket sales in the future. Montreal is not exactly what you call a tourist destination, even for hardcore MMA fans, so the market there can only handle so many events.
It makes sense to continually go to Toronto. It is an established city that attracts tourism.
However, the fact that UFC officials are stunned that ticket sales are slow baffles me. What do they expect? They go to Montreal too much.
Are you telling me that places like Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston can’t get a yearly show, but Montreal can?
That is almost a joke. Chicago is a huge market for MMA, yet they have only had one event there in the past three-plus years.
Boston has long been a place filled with both talent and fans. However, their last visit was UFC 118, and before that who knows how long that neck of the woods was visited.
American fans seem to be getting shafted in this new global expansion by the UFC. It’s great that they have begun making moves into places like Brazil, China and Japan, but it’s the home crowd that is seeing its number of events diminished.
When the UFC is in the USA, there is almost a 50 percent chance that the event is in Las Vegas. While I see no problem with that, as it is the UFC’s home, the rest of the country suffers.
There are six UFC events left in 2012, for example. Three are in the United States and two of those are in Las Vegas (the other being in Seattle).
Add to that the fact there are only two events scheduled for 2013, one of which is in Brazil, and it shows that the USA is getting too neglected.
Montreal is just an example of how over-going to places will harm ticket sales in the future. So, UFC brass, spread the love!
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