If you enjoy setting your calendar early for UFC events, the promotion offered a handy glimpse into the future on Thursday by announcing that two Canadian cities will get regular events at regular times for the foreseeable future.
During a press conference announcing the official launch of UFC 154, UFC director of operations Tom Wright indicated that Montreal would be the recipient of an annual spring show, while Toronto would welcome the UFC’s Octagon in the fall.
More specifically, the plan is to establish the third weekend of March as a regular Montreal visit, while the third week of September will bring Toronto’s yearly stop.
“It really helps our fans understand exactly when we’re coming,” Wright said. “They can plan their travel, they can plan their schedules. It’s really important, we feel, to have that kind of consistency to our schedule, to not only our fans but to our business partners to manage their relationship with us and our relationship with them.”
This past weekend was the promotion’s third trip to Toronto, drawing 16,800 fans and a $1.9 million gate to the Air Canada Centre.
Meanwhile, the Nov. 17 date that is set for UFC 154 will mark the fifth trip to Montreal.
Its last show, a December 2010 event, briefly set the record for North American attendance, drawing 23,152. That record was eventually shattered by the monster success at UFC 129 in Toronto, as the event drew 55,724 to the Rogers Centre.
The success of the two Canadian markets has ensured regular visits from the promotion.