28°c Partly cloudy
18°c Cloudy periods
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
UFC debuts in city in mid-June
True North set to announce fight today
Tim Wright, Director of UFC Canadian Operations, announces the UFC is coming to Winnipeg on June 15. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
Related Items
Canadian Georges St-Pierre is the UFC's welterweight champ, but isn't listed for the Winnipeg card. (PAUL CHIASSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship takes to the ring at the MTS Centre this June in a fight card that's been in the works for at least three years.
Details of the June 15 event are to be released this morning at 10:30 a.m. by True North Sports & Entertainment, who billed it Monday as "a major sporting event." The announcement will be live streamed here.
Sources told the Free Press the UFC, the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world, has added Winnipeg to its list of cities to host its extremely popular pay-per-view TV fight matches.
Internet mixed martial arts news website mmafrenzy.com, citing a Brazilian website, reported Monday the upcoming UFC 161 has been slated for June 15 at an unnamed Canadian city.
Sources say that's the fight card to be held in Winnipeg.
The event will feature light heavyweight Dan Henderson against former UFC champion Rashad Evans, mmafrenzy.com said. A second light heavyweight matchup will be between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueria. The Saturday-night card also has Tyron Woodley versus Jake Shields.
However, a source said fighters for the June 15 card have not been confirmed.
UFC spokesman Steve Keogh declined to comment on Winnipeg becoming a new UFC city.
"We have nothing to confirm in terms of upcoming Canadian fights," he said in an email.
A source said organizers expect the building to sell out, with many fans coming to Winnipeg from the northern United States, and many will also attend the weigh-ins for the featured fighters.
Manitoba Combative Sport Commission (MCSC) executive director Joel Fingard also declined to comment on today's announcement. The MCSC, formerly the Manitoba Boxing Commission (it officially changed its name last year) is the MMA governing body in the province. For the UFC to hold a card in the Winnipeg, it needs to obtain a licence and event permit from the commission.
"I don't have a permit at this time," Fingard said Monday.
Last October, Tom Wright, UFC director of Canadian operations, told Sportsnet 590 The Fan there will be at least four UFC events in Canada in 2013, with one possibly being a The Ultimate Fighter Canada finale.
Wright hinted the two 2013 UFC events would take place in cities people might not expect.
"There's going to be at least two cities that may surprise a few people when we come out with our schedule," Wright told the Toronto radio station.
Two cities already picked for UFC events this year are Montreal and Toronto. In the past, the UFC has held two events in Vancouver and one in Calgary.
On Thursday, the UFC hosts a media conference call to promote its March 7 event at the Bell Centre in Montreal, featuring reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre against challenger Nick Diaz.
The UFC produces more than 30 live events around the world annually and is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world.
Three years ago, Manitoba Boxing Commission chairman Dan Vandal told the Free Press that at a match in Montreal, he promoted Winnipeg as a host city to UFC officials.
"They definitely know of Winnipeg," Vandal said at the time. "I spoke to (UFC president) Dana White himself. I told him I was from Winnipeg and he already knew all about Winnipeg and how we have a lot of mixed martial arts fans here.
"I believe that we're in their plans somewhere in the future. Where that is, I'm not sure. They've done their homework; they know there's a good market for mixed martial arts in Winnipeg."
Vandal was unavailable for comment Monday.
-- with files from Gary Lawless
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 5, 2013 A3
History
Updated on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 11:39 AM CST: Adds new photo
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 49 articles for today)
Fatal crash 'could have happened to anyone'; defence seeks weekend sentence
4:23 PM 0
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Mountie hospitalized, dog euthanized after crash near Saskatoon
- Sobey clan to alter city market
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- New crowd plan for Taylor Swift get-together
- Community's children apprehended by province
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- 'Shocking' half of First Nations kids living in poverty, new study finds
- Teen on train tracks from York Landing
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Toronto woman dead in rural Manitoba ATV wreck
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- RCMP say woman deliberately murdered her sister with her car
- Man convicted of drunk driving in Henderson pile-up
- Bomber fans wowed by new stadium
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Two people killed in crash north of Winnipeg
- Two Winnipeg teens identified as victims of crash
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Father, daughter seriously injured in ATV crash
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Filipino singer Charice comes out as lesbian; Catholic official says she's in identity crisis
- Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits north, with temps topping 80 degrees (26C) in Anchorage
- Mountie hospitalized, dog euthanized after crash near Saskatoon
- New crowd plan for Taylor Swift get-together
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Sobey clan to alter city market
- Accounts and accountability: UK committee says bankers must take more responsibility
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- Only one workshop to be held on vacant land at The Forks
- Tory attacks on Trudeau boomerang, raise questions about PMO involvement
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Priest kept silent about accusations against Storheim, court hears
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Geothermal heat coming to some Manitoba First Nations
- Spiralling cost of land raises new home prices
- Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits north, with temps topping 80 degrees (26C) in Anchorage
- Rogers and MTS announce new network sharing agreement
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Door openers being used to break into garages, police warn
- Province formally opens Mental Health Crisis Response Centre
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.