UFC to Virginia in January?
by Jeff124 on Oct 15, 2009 5:38 PM EDT
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From MMAWeekly.com
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has secured a Jan. 11 date for a possible event in Virginia in what would be the promotion’s first trip to the Old Dominion state, according to a report from Sherdog.com.
Mary Boz-Vaughn, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, which oversees boxing and mixed martial arts events in the state, told MMAWeekly.com the event would likely take place in Northern Virginia, but did not name a venue or timetable for its confirmation.
“Virginia would be delighted to have the UFC, but nothing has been confirmed,” said Boz-Vaughn.
Rory MacDonald, a 20-year-old undefeated lightweight fighting out of Kelowna, British Columbia, will likely be the first addition to the card, according to sources from the fighter’s camp.
MacDonald is in the process of signing a bout agreement to face UFC newcomer and veteran Mike “The Joker” Guymon for the Jan. 11 event. The fight, first reported by MixedMartialArts.com, was the first of a four-fight deal with the UFC.
Guymon, 35, was not immediately reachable for comment.
Very interesting that in the wake of the Easton/Beebe controversy, as well as the other shortcomings of the Virginia Athletic Commission that our own Luke Thomas has so diligently chronicled of late, that the UFC would even consider this state as to host an event.
This could be either a very good thing, or a very bad thing for the sport, the UFC and the state of Virginia. Thinking positively, maybe the UFC's arrival will prompt a radical change in the way Virginia handles professional MMA ("Big" John McCarthy has reportedly been contacted about meeting with Virginia officials about the way they operate) and this would be a big stage for the state to prove that they can competently handle the duties of sanctioning a high level MMA show.
Conversely, this could prove to be a big debacle for the state, as well as the UFC and the sport as a whole if even the most benign error is made while the lights are on. People will wonder how the UFC could come to a place that has been widely reported to be incompetent, and they will be justified in doing so. This is possibly a huge black eye for our sport waiting to happen.
Only time till tell.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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A Monday? Seems very odd, has the UFC ever held an event on a Monday?
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Oct 15, 2009 6:05 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Yes
UFN 2 (Loiseau vs. Tanner) was on a Monday.
Another odd date was UFN 10 (Stout vs. Fisher) which was a Tuesday.
It's true
‘only time till tell’ whether or not the state of Virginia’s AC truly has it’s act together or not. Maybe the UFC should consider doing a free card with fights that don’t have a lot riding on them. Or maybe even a fight night card, just something that doesn’t involve high stakes.
Because from all that we’ve heard regarding the UWC 7 fiasco, i’m very skeptical of whether or not that is a viable area for a show as big as the UFC
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
Northern VA is certainly big enough to host the UFC. The George Mason University Patriot Center (where the UWC cards have been held) holds like 10 or 12,000 people and the UWC has been able to consistently draw around 5,000 or so people so I’m sure the UFC could pack the place out.
If they held it further south, Richmond has the facilities and interest to draw a good crowd as well.
If they held it further south, Richmond has the facilities and interest to draw a good crowd as well.
I’ve heard Richmond referred to as “the armit of Virginia”… My niece went to VCU in Richmond and well… I concur with that sentiment.
I hope they stick with NoVa.
I'm the kind of girl who loves to watch a GOOD fight!
--------
Join the DC Area UFC Meetup Group
http://www.meetup.com/DCUFCGroup
I graduated from VCU, they have a really good engineering program there, but the areas nearby aren’t the best. But to call Richmond the armpit, well, try some of the counties out west. Now me personally, I would love it to be in Richmond, a much better drive from Fredericksburg than NoVA.
(This last statement said in hopes that the universe will screw with me by getting me that job in NoVA and then making the UFC in Richmond)
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
Confirmed Fight Night on Spike
The average human being supposedly eats 8 pounds of food per day. Aaron Curry eats 8 humans for breakfast.
Err, not at all confirmed
However, the UFC has made no formal announcement, and a representative from Virginia’s Professional Boxing, Martial Arts and Wrestling Program said no date is official.
Additionally, while the cable station has begun preparations for the first quarter of 2010, including tryouts for “The Ultimate Fighter 11” and the show’s April 2010 debut, Spike TV Vice President of Communications David Schwarz said nothing is official.
“We have nothing to announce yet for 2010,” he said.
This show will likely happen, but don’t say “confirmed” when it’s not.
I want to go; I also don’t want to pay for tickets.
This is an issue I must resolve.
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by Patrick Tenney on Oct 15, 2009 10:37 PM EDT reply actions
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