It's time for a change in Ontario and B.C. where MMA is currently banned.
Although they are based in Las Vegas, the UFC continues to take their show on the road to specific markets they strategically select, based on a variety of historical data and the top of the list is "pay-per-view buy rates".
The UFC takes a look at these numbers to determine how strong their brand is in a specific market. If a certain area or market consistently shows that they buy UFC pay-per-view shows, it makes sense for the organization to look at this area has a potential host for either a "Fight Night" event, or better yet, a full-scale pay-per-view.
Logistics come into play, such as pooling from surrounding markets, venue capacity, etc, but if an area shows that within a circular-kilometer region (say within a three-hours driving range from the host city) the numbers are dramatic, it's safe to say the UFC will likely look at that region as a potential host, pending the sport of MMA is not illegal in that area.
UFC President Dana White continues to profess how popular the UFC is in Canada, but specifically in Toronto, where pay-per-view buy rates are a hit, but ironically enough, the sport of Mixed Martial Arts is without sanctioning and regulation in the province of Ontario.
Enter Marc Ratner, the UFC's vice-president of government and regulatory affairs, whose primary focus is to educate the various cities and commissions on the safety of MMA and to begin the process of legalizing the sport in their area. In doing so, he sets the stage for the UFC to hold an event there.
Ratner was recently in Toronto trying to convince the powers that be that MMA should be allowed in the province. In speaking with Ratner, he believes that 40 percent of the fans that will be attending UFC 97 in Montreal will be from Ontario, many of which will be coming from the Greater Toronto Area. That's over 8,000 fans willing to commute over five hours to watch an UFC event. That does not calculate the thousands of fans who are unable to get tickets because the show sold out so quickly, nor the thousands of fans that may not be willing to commute but would instantly jump at the chance if there were an UFC in their own backyard.
The latter points are what the UFC if fully aware of as Ratner (and White) continue to state that they are looking at Air Canada Centre as a possible venue but that the UFC is seriously considering packing in the Roger Centre for a mega-show. Considering the UFC has yet to have a stadium show and that "Rogers Centre" is always mentioned, it just goes to show you how big Toronto is to them and the potential it has to host a UFC event.
If we take a look at some of the numbers, I personally believe the UFC is being very ambitious to even consider the Rogers Centre. Regular arenas like the Bell Centre hold just over 21,000 fans for a UFC event, but then again, they have sold out both their events in mere days. Not only do they sell out, but the backlash from fans that cannot get tickets is immense; so large in fact that I personally believe it is in the thousands. Now if we look at what the Rogers Centre can hold, it is more than triple that of arena. The current record for attendance at the Rogers Centre is 68,237, set on March 17th, 2002 when wrestling fans enjoyed Wrestlemania 18.
Can the UFC come close to that or even break that record? It remains to be seen, but you can rest assured it would be a star-studded event and I'd be willing to say that the main card would be five title fights; all of the UFC champions putting their belts on the line. If that was to happen today, you would see champions BJ Penn, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Rashad Evans and Brock Lesnar all defending on the same card. I firmly believe that if that was the case, the UFC would break the record set by the WWE, but at the moment, this is far from any serious sense of reality. It is a far stretch for any MMA fan to ever see such a card, but for MMA fans in Ontario, it's a pipe dream.
Why? Well, the sport is currently illegal in the province of Ontario and the UFC has quite the fight on their hands trying to convince Ontario's Athletic Commissioner, Ken Hayashi to get on board. For years, the commissioner has been stating that the sport of MMA is not legal under Section 83 of the Federal Criminal Code and that many things need to change in the Province of Ontario, especially some of the terminology in the Athletics Control Act. I have personally been involved with several groups in hopes of educating the province on MMA, but it has been a difficult process over the past decade. The tide may be changing though.
During last year's UFC 83 event in Montreal, Hayashi declined Ratner's invitation to attend the event in person, but numerous sources have told me that Hayashi is seriously considering attending April 18th's UFC 97 event being held at the Bell Centre. There are also numerous reports that the Ministry he works for (The Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services) appears to be changing their stance on their tight regulations on the sport.
In future, I will be discussing a variety of items pertaining to MMA in Ontario ( as well as Canadian cities like Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, etc) the mere mention that Hayashi may be attending an MMA event, specifically a UFC event is very encouraging.
I sincerely hope he does attend as the time has come for Ontario to adopt the "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" and to join cities and countries like Germany, Philadelphia, Portland and later this week, for the first time ever, Nashville, who will play host to the Ultimate Fight Night 18: Condit vs. Kampann.
I have seen first hand the economic impact a UFC event has on any given marketplace. I have seen it in Las Vegas, Montreal, Columbus, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Chicago and can just imagine the beauty of a UFC event in Toronto or Vancouver.
No matter how long I have to wait to get into a restaurant, or to flag down a taxi or shop at a downtown store, there is nothing better than knowing it was all because of UFC fans that are out and about, spending their tourist (or local) dollars to the various mediums that are hurting right now due to the economic crisis.
When it comes to the commission in Ontario, nobody is asking them to reinvent the wheel… the rules, regulations and sanctioning information can all be found in Nevada or New Jersey. Why not create a commission structure that is self-sufficient and that pay for itself via sanctioning fees, taxes, etc. The blueprint is out there and it is very basic to adhere to. If a commission like the one in Vegas can generate hundreds of thousands (if not millions) for itself and the state, why can it not be done in Ontario?
Who is truly stopping MMA from being regulated and at what point should they change their stance or be held fully accountable for the millions of dollars that could have been made up until this point? If the people want mixed martial arts, why can they not have it in the same city and towns as the politicians they vote into office?
It's time for a change…it's time to get with the program and above all, it's time to take a serious look at who and why the sport of MMA has yet to be regulated in provinces like Ontario.
