UFC 102
- Antonio Nogueira spoils Randy Couture’s homecoming
- Win over Couture proves Antonio Nogueira is still one of the best
- Randy Couture leaves Portland feeling like a winner despite loss
- Nate Marquardt makes case for title shot
- Thiago Silva makes a point to prove he's back against Keith Jardine
- Looking back at UFC 102 by the numbers:
- Classic tunes rule fighters' entrance music
- UFC 102: Breakdown and Picks
- Fighters weigh in for first ever UFC event in Portland
- Pacific Northwesterners know Randy Couture for more than his UFC career
- Randy Couture's biggest fan in his home arena will be his son
- The battle of the heavyweight greats
- Couture vs. Nogueira preview
- Nogueira not worried about facing Couture crowd
- Road blog from Portland
- Fireside chat with UFC President Dana White
- UFC looks to be heading to Vancouver
- Loss to Lyoto Machida is all the motivation Thiago Silva needs
- Keith Jardine looking for consistency, not new career
- Marquardt hopes win at UFC 102 would give him Silva
- Undefeated Demian Maia is no secret
- Gabriel Gonzaga looking to add a little excitement to his game
- Randy Couture's Muay Thai trainer more than just a masseur
- Age nothing but a number for former champs
- Home cage advantage
- Complete UFC 102 coverage
While the UFC is still hours away from hosting its first-ever event in the Pacific Northwest with UFC 102 at the Rose Garden Arena Saturday night, UFC president Dana White was already talking about the promotion’s next foray into the region.
“We're going to Vancouver. We'll be there soon ... Let's just say we got it done," White said during a pre-fight press conference Thursday afternoon for UFC 102 in Portland, while at the same time other UFC officials were up in Canada meeting with local politicians and media members.
"Nothing has been announced yet except me out here shooting my mouth off early as usual that we're going to Vancouver."
The UFC is targeting a June 2010 date for the 19,000-seat General Motors Place in Vancouver, whose 2.2 million residents represent the third largest metro area in the country.
While the Vancouver Athletics Commission hasn't officially sanctioned mixed martial arts yet, UFC vice-president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner said Thursday it’s only a matter of time.
“We've had positive meetings … we should be able to get approved,” Ratner told The Canadian Press.
White and UFC officials have long talked about hosting an event in Vancouver, especially after the success of the promotions first two events, both held at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The first show, UFC 83 — which featured popular Canadian Georges St. Pierre regaining his welterweight championship belt with a win over Matt Serra — set a UFC attendance record with 21,390 fans. The gate of $5.1 million was the second largest gate in UFC history.
UFC 97, the second show in Montreal that featured middleweight champ Anderson Silva defeating Thales Leites and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua knocking out Chuck Liddell topped the previous crowd mark with 21,451 fans.
Andy Samuelson can be reached at [email protected] or 702-948-7837.
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