| UFC Canada soon!? |
As the UFC heads to England for UFC 70 April 21, UFC president Dana White turned his attention to Canada this week and offered up a shout-out.
"Canada’s been a phenomenal breakthrough market for us, the sleeper market," White told The Canadian Press.
"When we were looking at this thing, when we first purchased it, we had no idea that Canada would become so huge."
White cited pay-per-view buy rate and ticket sales as evidence of the Canadian interest in mixed martial arts.
"When we see where our ticket sales are coming from, it is mind-boggling how many tickets are coming from Canada. For every fight … I know now Canada is one of our biggest markets. I know that now. But when we bought it, I didn’t expect it."
White had hoped to capitalize on that interest later this year by showcasing Georges St. Pierre at home in Montreal against former champion Matt Hughes in a rubber match for the organization’s first card in Canada. But that plan was derailed slightly when St. Pierre lost his welterweight title in an upset loss April 7 to Matt (The Terror) Serra in Houston at UFC 69: Shootout.
White has plenty of potential opponents for St. Pierre — Josh Koscheck and Diego Sanchez — and the Canadian could face the winner of Serra-Hughes.
"It’s a very stacked, incredible division," White said.
But the UFC boss now believes he doesn’t need a Canadian in the main event to sell a card in the Great White North.
"Obviously it’s better if you have Georges St. Pierre on the card. Because you’ve got one of the best fighters in the world who is a Canadian fighting on the card. But I tell you, we can go there without any Canadians and still kick butt up in Canada."
White still plans to put on a show in Montreal this year. The city already holds MMA cards via the TKO circuit, so it’s just a question of when.
"We’re ready to roll," White said.
St. Pierre will be motivated when the Hughes rematch rolls round. The former champion was gleeful ringside after Serra’s win.
"For lack of better terminology. Georges looked a little smaller than usual and he didn’t look sharp when he was out there," Hughes wrote later in his blog.
"So, I don’t know if pressure had something to do with it or what but he just didn’t look like himself out there and Matt was able to land that big punch. So, hopefully I will be facing Matt in the future."
St. Pierre noticed Hughes’ reaction to his loss.
"I saw what he did and, don’t worry, it’s in my mind," he told MMAWeekly.com. "I can’t wait to have a chance to fight him. When I knocked him out, I didn’t laugh at him and make fun of the situation."
| " | "Obviously it's better if you have Georges St. Pierre on the card. Because you've got one of the best fighters in the world who is a Canadian fighting on the card. But I tell you, we can go there without any Canadians and still kick butt up in Canada." |
