By MIKE JOHNSTONBetween making fun of Rogers Sportsnet’s ‘Showdown Joe’ Ferraro’s shoes and having fun quipping with TSN’s Michael Landsberg, or interacting with fans and media, there are many reasons why UFC President Dana White loves coming to Toronto.
Currently, he is in town promoting this weekend’s UFC 124, which takes place in Montreal, Quebec and can be seen on pay-per-view on December 11. Plus, at a press conference held Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre, White announced that the UFC would hold its first event in Toronto on April 30 of next year at the Rogers Centre.
White took some time to speak with CanadianProFighter.com about several topics including UFC 124, the sport in Canada, and the ongoing issue of questionable judging in MMA.
As a fan, White is looking forward to seeing how the Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck fight turns out. And, as a businessman, he is especially excited about the prospects of UFC 124 possibly being one of the most watched UFC’s ever. “Oh, I think this one’s going to be big,” said White. “First of all, this was one of the highest rated seasons in Ultimate Fighter history. It was number two. Then, we broke the North American attendance record, which is north of 23,000 people. And, we broke the worldwide gate, which is north of $5 million. So, believe me people are pumped up for this fight. People love Georges St. Pierre; people hate [Josh] Koscheck, people want to see him get beat. It’s a big fight.”
White, though, is disappointed that there will be no Prelims Live broadcast for UFC 124, saying it basically comes down to the fact the UFC has fulfilled its quota with Spike TV for 2010. “What happens is, you know, there’s so many fights we can pull off, and some that we can’t,” said White. “It sucks, you know, obviously any time I can deliver the fans more fights, and especially for free, I’m all about it, so it’s unfortunate. And people have to understand I don’t just make all the rules on television, you know.”
White said ideally he would “absolutely” want a Prelims Live broadcast for every UFC pay-per-view event since they help generate more PPV buys. “We know how many number we pull. We pull anywhere from a million-five to 2 million viewers,” White added.
UFC 124 will be the fourth Zuffa event held in Canada in 2010. It joins UFC 113 that was also held in Montreal, UFC 115 from Vancouver, and WEC 49 from Edmonton. White said that next year Canada should expect to host three major events including a UFC Fan Expo in Toronto. “We’ll do three shows [in 2011]. We’re looking to do three shows. One of the things you gotta realize now that we’re in to Toronto, plus, as we continue to grow every year, we’re going to be putting on more and more fights. Eventually you’ll start to see Fight Nights up here too.”
If one day there is a change to the judging system, White said the UFC would go along with whatever is decided since they wouldn’t have a say in the matter to begin with. “The athletic commission is the one that [has the ability to changes the rules],” said White. “What happened the other night, the one positive thing that happened and Nam Phan losing, is I think it opened some eyes in not only Nevada but some other states too that changes need to be made.”
Regardless of poor judging, the UFC plans to continue to put on exciting events for fans across Canada and the rest of the world to enjoy. For more info on the UFC visit ufc.com. For more MMA news and notes followhttp://twitter.com/MikeyJ_MMA
Currently, he is in town promoting this weekend’s UFC 124, which takes place in Montreal, Quebec and can be seen on pay-per-view on December 11. Plus, at a press conference held Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre, White announced that the UFC would hold its first event in Toronto on April 30 of next year at the Rogers Centre.
White took some time to speak with CanadianProFighter.com about several topics including UFC 124, the sport in Canada, and the ongoing issue of questionable judging in MMA.
As a fan, White is looking forward to seeing how the Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck fight turns out. And, as a businessman, he is especially excited about the prospects of UFC 124 possibly being one of the most watched UFC’s ever. “Oh, I think this one’s going to be big,” said White. “First of all, this was one of the highest rated seasons in Ultimate Fighter history. It was number two. Then, we broke the North American attendance record, which is north of 23,000 people. And, we broke the worldwide gate, which is north of $5 million. So, believe me people are pumped up for this fight. People love Georges St. Pierre; people hate [Josh] Koscheck, people want to see him get beat. It’s a big fight.”
White, though, is disappointed that there will be no Prelims Live broadcast for UFC 124, saying it basically comes down to the fact the UFC has fulfilled its quota with Spike TV for 2010. “What happens is, you know, there’s so many fights we can pull off, and some that we can’t,” said White. “It sucks, you know, obviously any time I can deliver the fans more fights, and especially for free, I’m all about it, so it’s unfortunate. And people have to understand I don’t just make all the rules on television, you know.”
White said ideally he would “absolutely” want a Prelims Live broadcast for every UFC pay-per-view event since they help generate more PPV buys. “We know how many number we pull. We pull anywhere from a million-five to 2 million viewers,” White added.
UFC 124 will be the fourth Zuffa event held in Canada in 2010. It joins UFC 113 that was also held in Montreal, UFC 115 from Vancouver, and WEC 49 from Edmonton. White said that next year Canada should expect to host three major events including a UFC Fan Expo in Toronto. “We’ll do three shows [in 2011]. We’re looking to do three shows. One of the things you gotta realize now that we’re in to Toronto, plus, as we continue to grow every year, we’re going to be putting on more and more fights. Eventually you’ll start to see Fight Nights up here too.”
- JUDGING THE JUDGES
If one day there is a change to the judging system, White said the UFC would go along with whatever is decided since they wouldn’t have a say in the matter to begin with. “The athletic commission is the one that [has the ability to changes the rules],” said White. “What happened the other night, the one positive thing that happened and Nam Phan losing, is I think it opened some eyes in not only Nevada but some other states too that changes need to be made.”
Regardless of poor judging, the UFC plans to continue to put on exciting events for fans across Canada and the rest of the world to enjoy. For more info on the UFC visit ufc.com. For more MMA news and notes followhttp://twitter.com/MikeyJ_MMA
LMAO @ "making fun of Rogers Sportsnet’s ‘Showdow Joe’ Ferraro’s shoes"
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen Showdown Joe's shoes? lol,
ReplyDeletethey are pretty bad, at least the ones I seen.
Yes I've seen them several times in person and they can be quite remarkable. Showdown is the man though, so I think he pulls them off. But Dana is not a fan haha.
ReplyDeleteHe wears them well. Like only he can, spose. May I suggest ballet flats. Sequined of course.
ReplyDeleteAnd by "pretty bad" (anonymous ;p), Im thinking you mean bad-ass. He is pretty bad ass, lol.
ReplyDeleteI wish they would at least consider hosting a UFC event in Edmonton during the summer. Put it in Commonwealth and you could destroy attendance records.
ReplyDeleteI think that one day in the next couple years the UFC will definitely be in Edmonton. I went out there to cover WEC 49 in the summer and although there were only about 6,500 people, the atmosphere was incredible. Great fight fans out west.
ReplyDelete