With UFC 96 nearly sold out, UFC vows return trips to Columbusby MMAJunkie.com on Mar 06, 2009 at 12:05 am ET
On the eve of what will be the UFC's third blockbuster event in Columbus, Ohio, UFC 96 is nearly sold out with fewer than one thousand tickets remaining for the 19,000-seat Nationwide Arena.
Dana White discussed the sales figures during Thursday's pre-UFC 96 press conference, and the UFC President promised the UFC will return to Columbus for future shows.
As detailed in today's Dayton Daily News, Ohio Athletic Commission Executive Director Bernie Profato certainly approves of the plans and on Thursday presented White with a lifetime matchmaker's license in Ohio.
As with the past two Columbus shows, this year's UFC event coincides with the Arnold Sports Festival, a three-day sports and fitness exhibition that draws tens of thousands of attendees to Columbus.
"It's as perfect a marriage as you'll find," Profato said. "The two events working together has been a key to the success."
The UFC made its Ohio (and Midwest) debut in 2007 with UFC 68, which featured Randy Couture's upset of Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title. The event set a still-standing U.S. MMA attendance record (19,049) and shattered the Nationwide Arena record with a $3 million gate. The following year, the UFC returned to Columbus for UFC 82 (headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson), which drew 16,043 for a $2.2 million gate.
"We love Columbus," White said. "Every year we've been here we've been successful. We plan to keep going back every year and making this a regular thing."
Credit to: MMAJunkie.com
No comments:
Post a Comment