New Orleans, Utah Added to List of Possible Venues For UFC
January 15, 2009
The Shreveport Times breaks the news that the UFC could look to put on a card there as early as this summer. New Orleans is an interesting choice for the UFC, adding to a move into the southern states. The UFC recently did the Fight for the troops show in North Carolina, has shows coming up in Tampa and Nashville, and have held a PPV from Atlanta. While the Northeast remains somewhat starved of UFC action, the Southeast is getting a surplus of action. The Times has the details:
Alvin Topham, chairman of the Louisiana Boxing and Wrestling Commission – the state’s governing body over mixed-martial arts – says recent talks with UFC owners could result in a fight card in just a matter of months at New Orleans Arena.
“I have a good rapport with the Fertitta family,” said Topham, who met with UFC’s brass at the organization’s blockbuster show featuring Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture in Las Vegas on Nov. 15. “They told me there were interested in coming to Louisiana and putting on a show sometime this summer.”
“Louisiana and New Orleans is on our radar,” UFC vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner told The Times on Thursday from “rainy” Ireland, where UFC 93 takes place Saturday. “We’ve already had a couple of different dates, but had conflicts. We’ll keep looking and find a date that works for everyone.”
“We like to go to places we haven’t been for a long time,” Ratner said. “We have good pay-per-view numbers and TV ratings in Louisiana. We’re very bullish and confident we would have a good crowd.”
Another state being added to the mix is Utah, according to Fight Ticker and The Salt Lake City Tribune :
“We have a big fandom in Utah and I’d like to do some kind of show there,” said Marc Ratner, UFC vice president of regulatory affairs. “I can tell from the television ratings that there’s a lot of interest. They watch our Spike [cable TV network] shows. Pay-per-view numbers, percentage wise, are very good there. And Salt Lake’s a great sports town.”
Ratner didn’t rule out a Utah-based pay-per-view event, though he said the limited number of such events makes it less likely Utah would host one in the near future. More likely options include a UFC Fight Night or a WEC event.
