UFC returning to Montreal

Quote :

The UFC will be back in Montreal one year after its first ever event in Canada. Middleweight champion Anderson (The Spider) Silva will headline an April mixed martial arts show, putting his belt on the line against Thales Leites, Sportsnet's Joe Ferraro confirmed Tuesday.

The news that UFC 97 was being scheduled for April 18 at the Bell Centre was reported earlier Tuesday by MMAweekly.com.

Silva (23-4) will make his first title defence since a TKO victory over Quebec's Patrick (The Predator) Cote on Oct. 25 in Chicago. Sources within Silva's camp confirmed the matchup.

Leites (14-1), one of the UFC's top middleweights, is coming off a first-round defeat of Drew McFedries by rear naked choke. It was the fifth straight win for the submission specialist.

The UFC made its Canadian debut on April 19, 2008, which saw Montreal's Georges St. Pierre beat Matt Serra for the welterweight championship in front of a raucous, record-breaking crowd of 21,000-plus. The UFC expects a similar crowd for its return to Canada.

The UFC had tried on a number of prior occasions to hold an event in Canada. The Bell Centre was the most viable option -- mixed martial arts is not sanctioned in Ontario -- but the Montreal Canadiens schedule proved to make things difficult. The organization finally managed to secure a Saturday during the first round of the NHL playoffs. The UFC appears to be trying to do the same thing this year.

Awesome that they'll be coming back to Montreal and UFC will be showcasing one of, if not their best, fighter they have signed.

Rashad Evans > Anderson Silva.

but good news anyway I guess.

I'll be sure to check it out. I love living in Montreal. lol

TheRealFan wrote:

I'll be sure to check it out. I love living in Montreal. lol

Though I probably would be too lazy to actually go watch it live, it'd still be cool if they came to Toronto They need to legalize MMA soon in Ontario.

Why is it illegal in Ontario by the way baba? I never really understood that one.

TheRealFan wrote:

Why is it illegal in Ontario by the way baba? I never really understood that one.

Well Ken Hayashi, the commissioner of the OAC (don't remember what it stands for exactly, but I'll guess Ontario Athletic Commission), is allowed to sanction the fight. The difference between him and many other commissioners in other provinces is that he doesn't want to take the risk that someone gets seriously injured and they can sue the OAC for sanctioning the fight because technically prized fights are against the law in Canada.

Oh, okay. It makes sense.