Georges St. Pierre: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
UFC Mania in Canada
Canadian television and print media was chock full of UFC interviews about Saturday’s fights and the announcement that UFC 131 will take place on April 30 in Toronto’s Rogers Centre. The Toronto event will include a two-day Fan Expo. UFC 124, headlined by Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck, is expected to break the UFC attendance record of 21,451 set for UFC 97, also in held in Montreal. More than 23,000 are expected on hand, which will translate into a gate north of $5 million, a mark the company has only eclipsed twice (UFC 66 and UFC 100).
UFC 131 will almost certainly top Saturday’s numbers, considering the pent-up demand for MMA in Toronto, which only recently sanctioned the sport. In one of the top UFC pay-per-view markets, Toronto’s Rogers Centre holds up to 70,000 people for boxing and wrestling events, though it remains unclear how many seats the UFC will open as it considers the quality of spectator experience.
UFC 124 received its share of stateside promotion, as well, as St. Pierre and Koscheck did live satellite interviews on ESPN’s Sportscenter and were rounded out as personalities in a well-produced “Countdown” special that premiered Monday on Spike TV.
All UFC 124 fighters made weight at Friday’s official weigh-in. In lieu of Spike TV coverage, preliminary fights of Dustin Hazelett vs. Mark Bocek and Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller will stream live at 9 p.m. ET on UFC.com.