The UFC is considering staging three shows in Canada in 2012, with the first one potentially being held in Calgary this summer.
UFC CENTRAL’s (Showdown) Joe Ferraro is reporting that the UFC will likely hold its first-ever show in the Alberta city on July 21. The expected venue is the Scotiabank Saddledome, home to the NHL’s Flames.
The other two Canandian cities the UFC will likely visit this year are Toronto and Montreal.
The UFC was eyeing the Rogers Centre for a Toronto date later in the year, with Georges St-Pierre fighting Nick Diaz to unify the welterweight titles as the headliner had Diaz beaten Carlos Condit at UFC 143 earlier this month. But Condit upset Diaz to win the interim belt, while St-Pierre remains sidelined with an injury until at least November.
A GSP vs. Condit matchup likely doesn’t carry enough cachet — as opposed to one between St-Pierre and Diaz, who have some animosity toward each other — to carry a stadium show, so the UFC will probably look to return to the Air Canada Centre. Another option being considered is a show in nearby Hamilton at the Copps Coliseum, but that is less likely.
An event in the Greater Toronto Area is expected to take place before the next one in Montreal, which will almost certainly be held at the Bell Centre.
The UFC had already penciled in March 24 as the first trip back to Quebec since December 2010, but it was postponed after a suitable main event couldn’t be arranged. All of the previously scheduled bouts, many of which featured Canadian fighters, were instead moved to the UFC 145 card on April 21 in Atlanta, headlined by Jon (Bones) Jones defending his light-heavyweight belt against Rashad Evans.
The first trip to Toronto last April was also the organization’s first event at a stadium and it sold out with a record 55,724 people in attendance.
The UFC has visited Canada eight times overall and three times in each of the past two years, including four times to Montreal (twice in 2010), two times to Toronto (both in 2011) and twice to Vancouver (2010, 2011).
The reported date for the Calgary event is the week after the end of the Calgary Stampede, the famous annual rodeo dubbed the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.”
The Stampede, taking place this year July 6-15, is held at Stampede Park, the same grounds that the Saddledome is located.
