UFC president Dana White and Canadian director of operations Tom Wright announced during a press conference in Calgary Wednesday morning that the UFC would be making three stops in Canada during the 2012 calendar year.
The dates kick off with June’s visit to Calgary, which will be headlined by Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title against an unknown opponent. They’ll return in September for a show in Toronto—likely at the Air Canada Centre and not the Rogers Centre—and then make the trek back to Montreal two months later for what will likely be Georges St-Pierre’s first fight in nearly two years.
“The doctors said it’s the fastest recovering they’ve seen in an ACL injury,” said St-Pierre, who indicated that he wants to return at the Montreal event.
The one Canadian city that won’t be getting a new UFC event any time soon? Vancouver. After several successful visits to the city, the UFC is now fighting a ban on the sport after the conclusion of a two-year regulatory period. White noted that Vancouver likely will not get a show for the next two years, at the very least.
The UFC is wise in making Canada one of their centerpiece nations. Having gone to six events in Canada, I can tell you that the level of rabid fandom that exists in cities like Montreal far exceeds that of anywhere else in the world. Okay, I suppose you’d have to include Brazil in that category.
But the point remains—Canada is full of loving, supportive fans, and they’re going to continue getting big events because of it. I think the rest of the world should take notice, and I’m not even a Canadian.
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