Quebec City, Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, Montreal to host UFC events in Canada in 2014
The UFC will be in Canada in 2014 more than ever before.
After three visits to Canada the past two years, the UFC will head north of the border five times in 2014. UFC executive Tom Wright made the announcement at a special news conference on Monday in Quebec City, which will play host to the first event of the calendar year.
The UFC will hit three cities it’s been to before, as well as two new stops: Quebec City, Quebec; Vancouver; Toronto; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Montreal.
The TUF Nations Finale is set for Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City on April 16. Rogers Arena in Vancouver will host the UFC 174 pay-per-view on June 14. The promotion returns to Air Canada Centre in Toronto for UFC 178 on Sept. 27. The UFC will make its first trip to Nova Scotia, in the Atlantic region of Canada, on Oct. 4 for a “Fight Night†card at Halifax Metro Centre. And the five-stop set will wrap up on Dec. 6 for UFC 181 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
Wright was joined by Canadian UFC fighters Patrick Cote, Sarah Kaufman, Sam Stout and T.J. Grant, as well as Canada-based Alex Garcia, at the fight card announcements.
In addition to the new cards announced, the UFC announced a fight between Stout and K.J. Noons for the TUF Nations Finale card in April, and it made official a bout between TUF Nations coaches Cote and Kyle Noke for that show, as well.
The UFC will visit Vancouver for the third time, Toronto for the fifth time and Montreal for the seventh time. All told, prior to 2014, the UFC has held 14 events in Canada with the three aforementioned cities hosting 12 of them, plus Calgary and Winnipeg.
In addition, Wright said a new program called “UFC Experience†will take some of the company’s athletes to areas of the country that won’t have a chance to host a live event.
“We’ll also be taking the UFC into four other communities with UFC Experience, which is all about taking our athletes and brand and message into communities that most likely will never host a UFC event,†Wright said. “(We’ll visit) British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. By the end of the year, we’ll have been in six of Canada’s 10 provinces and truly have had an opportunity to bring our sport to as many locations as possible.â€
No fights for UFC 174, UFC 178, the “Fight Night†card in Halifax or UFC 181 were announced.
