ONTARIO SANCTIONS MMA TO START IN 2011
- by MMAWeekly.com Staff
The fans of mixed martial arts in Ontario will only have to wait a few more months until the sport hits their province.
That's because on Saturday the Ontario government passed a ruling to allow MMA events to be sanctioned in their province starting in 2011.
The province of Ontario has long been the desired place for many MMA organizations to go to in Canada based on population alone, but until Saturday's ruling the sport had not been allowed there, and all signs had previously pointed towards a long wait until the government changed their minds.
"Our government has been monitoring MMA for some time. We know that the sport has evolved and that Ontarians want to see it here," said Sophia Aggelonitis, Minister of Consumer Services. "My goal is to make sure we have the tools to keep the competitors safe, and provide an economic boost to communities that want to host professional MMA events."
The sanctioning body that will oversee the sport in Ontario will use the same rules universally recognized throughout the rest of North America, and according to the release the local government expects upwards of a $6 million dollar surge in the local economy because of the sport coming to the province.
The UFC has long been leading the charge to have MMA sanctioned in Ontario, so much so that just several weeks ago the promotion opened a Canadian office centered in Toronto, headed by former Canadian Football League commissioner Tom Wright.
"It's my No. 1 priority," UFC Canadian President Tom Wright told MMAWeekly in May about Ontario getting sanctioned. "We want to get our sport not only sanctioned here in Ontario, but across the entire country, so that's job one."
With the sanctioning of the sport expected to pick up in 2011, the UFC could head north of the border with a show at any time past that, and during the press conference to announce the new Canadian office, rumors had circulated that the promotion had already booked dates with the Rogers Centre for a potential show.
UFC officials were unavailable on Saturday for comment about the Ontario sanctioning, but UFC Vice President Marc Ratner did take to Twitter saying, "MMA will have fights in Ontario starting in 2011. We're excited!"
More news about the UFC's debut in Ontario could come at any time, and MMAWeekly will continue to update the situation as information becomes available.
