UFC opening Canadian office in Toronto
Alongside chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, White announced Tuesday at Rogers Centre in Toronto that the Las Vegas-based company is setting up an office in Canada, with former Canadian Football League commissioner Tom Wright serving as UFC Canada president.
“This market is so important to us, it’s time we opened an office here,” said White.
“It’s probably overdue. We probably should have done this earlier. … To not have a market here is insane.”
Hiring Wright was a no-brainer, said White. With his background with the CFL, Adidas Canada and other major companies, he was a “perfect fit.” The fact he’s a homegrown product was also key in the hiring.
“To me, it was an opportunity to back into the sports business, where my passion is, and in this country, obviously where my passion is,” said Wright.
“It’s a great fit. I’m really excited about it.”
Wright’s first official day with UFC is May 31. He said his No. 1 priority is get the sport regulated in every province and territory in Canada.
The move gives UFC a permanent base near two markets the company has spent untold time and money trying to break into. Mixed martial arts remains unsanctioned in Ontario and, because of a law passed more than a decade ago, the sport is illegal in the state of New York.
As a result, UFC is unable to hold events in major markets like Toronto and New York City.
UFC has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying local, provincial and federal governments to make MMA legal everywhere in Canada. (Ontario remains the lone province with an athletic commission that doesn’t regulate the sport. Events are promoted in Saskatchewan under the Unified Rules of MMA, but there is no official commission anymore. Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut also do not have commissions.)
Many of the biggest events in company history have taken place in Canada.
UFC 83 in Montreal, headlined by Georges St-Pierre challenging welterweight champion Matt Serra, was an official sellout just one minute after tickets went on sale to the general public. The event — in April 2008 — drew what was then a North American MMA-record crowd of 21,390.
UFC 97, the company’s return to Montreal last April, set a new attendance record of 21,451.
The record for fastest sellout, meanwhile, was topped last month, when every ticket was snapped up 30 minutes into a pre-sale promotion for UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver, the company’s West Coast debut.
UFC 83 ($5.1-million) and UFC 97 ($4.9-million) are the third- and fifth-highest gates in company history, while Vancouver will be in that territory when final sales are tabulated.
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
— Dave Deibert, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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