UFC arrives in Calgary

The Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao bout headlines UFC 149

July 21, 2012 was a day members of Calgary’s mixed-martial arts community and fans of the UFC have had circled on their calendars for months.

On Saturday night, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made its debut in the Stampede city with a sold-out show at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Seats for UFC 149 were a hot commodity in Calgary and across North America.  When tickets went on sale in May, it took only minutes for the event to be completely sold out.

Tickets for the fights were being offered on third party websites for as much as $1,000 more than face value.

Scalpers aren’t the only ones capitalizing on the popularity of the UFC.

According to the UFC, Saturday’s event is estimated to bring $20 million to Calgary’s economy.   The organization believes as many as forty percent of ticket holders are from out of town which is providing hotels and restaurants in the downtown core with a post-Stampede boom.

MMA fans unable to secure tickets for the fight flocked to restaurants and bars to cheer on their favourite fighters.

The original fight card was decimated by injuries leaving many to question the calibre of the reassigned bouts but UFC President, Dana White, says fans had nothing to worry about.

"They might not have the same power to back it up," say White, "but I think there's going to be a lot of hungry fighters."

A total of seven Canadians were scheduled to fight in UFC 149.

Calgary is the fourth Canadian city to host the UFC following the likes of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Calgary’s next UFC event has yet to be scheduled but UFC President Dana White has guaranteed the UFC will be returning to town in the not too distant future.