Montreal trip postponed indefinitely

The UFC has shelved its March trip to Montreal.

The organization’s next stop on Canadian soil was to be a return visit to the city of Montreal on March 24, but the UFC’s director of Canadian operations Tom Wright said the event has been postponed.

Wright said that "scheduling concerns" were one of the issues, and that if the organization could not muster up a "championship-level card," it would not be fair to their loyal fans.

The rumoured card already had some stellar Canadian and International talent booked. But according to Wright, the fighters were "being contacted by (UFC matchmakers) Joe Silva and Sean Shelby and being informed their bouts will likely be rescheduled for Saturday, April 21, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia."

As for when the organization will return to Montreal, Wright said he was "not sure."

While local area fans are hoping for sooner rather than later, it appears there may not be an event held in Montreal in 2012, with 2013 a more feasible and realistic scenario.

Wright also confirmed that there would be no UFC pay-per-view event for the month of March.

When asked if history was repeating itself, in that issues with the Provincial Athletic Commission in Quebec were causing problems, the UFC executive said: "not at all. We are a growing business, and these things happen sometimes. We look forward to returning to Montreal as soon as we possibly can."

NOTES: There were already eight fights announced for the card, including five involving Canadians.

Rory MacDonald was signed to face Che Mills, while Mark Hominick, Mark Bocek and John Makdessi were also set to return to action in Montreal.

Chris Clements was slated to make his UFC debut against Keith Wisniewski.