Has UFC lost its lustre in Toronto?

TORONTO -- Has the Ultimate Fighting Championship tapped out in Toronto?

There is no question that the hype and vibe that the UFC experienced in April when it finally came to Toronto after years of grappling with the Ontario Provincial government for permission to promote a sanctioned card has tapered off eight months later.

Saturday's card at the Air Canada Centre will be staged in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000, nearly three times less than the 55,724 that packed the Rogers Centre back in April and set a UFC record.

"It was going to be this massive event, this huge event that people had to be (at) no matter whether you're from Canada or anyone else in the world. It brought out a lot of people globally for that event and you can't do that every weekend," UFC president Dana White said on Thursday at a media/fan event when asked by sportsnet.ca about the dramatic shift this time around. "Every time you come up to Canada you're not going to sell 55,000 tickets. As far as stadium shows goes, we're probably going to do one in Brazil this summer, but they're few and far between.

"You've got to have a special fight to pull that off. I've always said I like competing in the arenas that we're in now as opposed to doing big stadium shows. You're not going to sell out in minutes every time you go somewhere and it's not always going to be 55,000 seats. We knew we weren't going to do that many ticket sales again."

There is talk that there are still tickets available this close to Saturday's card, whereas in April you had to know somebody, preferably with connections to White or the corporate sector, to get a ducat. Scalpers did brisk business, charging three, four, five times the base ticket price because of the interest. There were people who wanted to be there to finally see the UFC in Toronto and others who simply wanted to be seen. It didn't matter if the seats were up in the nosebleed sections, which frankly had massive giant-screen TVs that provided a high-definition picture so crystal clear you could see the hematoma on Mark Hominick's forehead.

Everything worked to perfection for April's card: World champion Georges St-Pierre, who hails from Montreal, headlined it and was fighting in a title defence, thus giving Torontonians plenty of bangs for their bucks, not to mention some Canadiana. Legendary Randy (The Natural) Couture was fighting for the final time in his illustrious career. If you didn't know it was important beforehand, all you had to do was see cage announcer Bruce Buffer bend down on one knee while introducing Couture, the only one he did that for, to understand the historical significance.

Buffer, by the way, ramped up his signature spinarama move for the GSP fight, but we'd be shocked if he duplicated it this time. Hey, you do it too often and it becomes a cliché, and Buffer just might over-rotate and blow out a knee and join GSP on the sidelines.

The first UFC card in Toronto had a fan fest, parties and appearances by past and present fighters and those lovely Octagon girls. I'll admit, I've looked, but who hasn't? This was not just another card; it was an event, more like a Super Bowl.

Anyone who follows the UFC now would probably admit seeing reigning light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones headline the card in a title defence against Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida is more appealing than GSP. Jones has a greater arsenal and is more likely to finish off an opponent than St-Pierre, who is technically proficient but has drawn criticism for his inability to finish off an opponent.

Jones is a truly special talent. While he is still learning the craft, and humbly admitted so on Thursday, Jones might become what Muhammad Ali was to boxing, if only because of his good looks, style and engaging personality. He might not talk with the same poetic rhyme, but he has charm. The Jones-Machida bout should be a clinic in style and technique, and we still remember the stunning front face kick that the Dragon used to knock out Couture.

But Jones doesn't offer the cachet that GSP has. He doesn't have fans who wear headbands. He doesn't have a slavish workout regimen. He doesn't have a name that can be defined solely by initials.

"It doesn't suck if Georges St-Pierre fights," White said. "It's not a bad thing, not just here in Canada but worldwide. This is why I've been saying it -- and I get into it with all the Canadians on this one -- he's the most famous guy to ever come out of Canada."

Predictably White heard some jeers from UFC fans in attendance for Thursday's event, and he replied by saying: "Deal with it."

While White is correct that people in the Philippines, England and the rest of the world for that matter don't care about all these hockey players, you could stage an NHL Winter Classic tomorrow in Toronto at the ACC and it would sell out in seconds. Add Sidney Crosby to the mix and you could book Rogers Centre and fill it to the brim.

Sorry, Dana, you're in Leaf Country now, it's hockey season and the hometown team is on a roll.

Speaking of the Leafs, Saturday's card takes place on a night when the club is normally in action at the ACC. They play on Friday in Washington against some team called the Capitals with a player named Alexander Ovechkin. Had that game been on Saturday at the ACC, tickets would have been going for a few times their worth.

We would not be surprised if there are several Leaf players seated in prime seats for the card and with the TV cameras perfectly situated to capture these hockey gods on the big screen.

You can pack the Rogers Centre the first time there is a UFC card in Toronto, but second time around with the Leafs actually doing well is a lot different.

But this much we do know: Saturday night will be all right for fighting in Toronto -- just a different kind of fight with elbows and knees besides the good old-fashioned knuckles.

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.