Looking forward to coming to Montreal to see this one:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2008/12/24/ufc_montreal/
UFC returning to Montreal in April
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Anderson (The Spider) Silva will defend his belt on April 18, 2009, for the first time since a TKO victory over Quebec's Patrick (The Predator) Cote in October. (Zuffa)SPORTSNET.CA
The UFC will be back in Montreal one year after its first ever event in Canada. Middleweight champion Anderson (The Spider) Silva will headline an April mixed martial arts show, putting his belt on the line against Thales Leites, Sportsnet's Joe Ferraro confirmed Tuesday.
The news that UFC 97 was being scheduled for April 18 at the Bell Centre was reported earlier Tuesday by MMAweekly.com.
Silva (23-4) will make his first title defence since a TKO victory over Quebec's Patrick (The Predator) Cote on Oct. 25 in Chicago. Sources within Silva's camp confirmed the matchup.
Leites (14-1), one of the UFC's top middleweights, is coming off a first-round defeat of Drew McFedries by rear naked choke. It was the fifth straight win for the submission specialist.
The UFC made its Canadian debut on April 19, 2008, which saw Montreal's Georges St. Pierre beat Matt Serra for the welterweight championship in front of a raucous, record-breaking crowd of 21,000-plus. The UFC expects a similar crowd for its return to Canada.
The UFC had tried on a number of prior occasions to hold an event in Canada. The Bell Centre was the most viable option -- mixed martial arts is not sanctioned in Ontario -- but the Montreal Canadiens schedule proved to make things difficult. The organization finally managed to secure a Saturday during the first round of the NHL playoffs. The UFC appears to be trying to do the same thing this year.
NOTES: While no other bouts have been reported, Cote, who hurt his knee in his bout with Silva, will likely miss a chance to fight in front of his home crowd for the second straight year because of injury. He recently underwent successful surgery but isn't expected to be ready to fight again until at least June. … St. Pierre, who next defends his belt against B.J. Penn on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas, will also likely not be able to compete in the second event in Canada. The UFC's welterweight star typically takes three-to-four months off between bouts.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2008/12/24/ufc_montreal/
UFC returning to Montreal in April
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Anderson (The Spider) Silva will defend his belt on April 18, 2009, for the first time since a TKO victory over Quebec's Patrick (The Predator) Cote in October. (Zuffa)SPORTSNET.CA
The UFC will be back in Montreal one year after its first ever event in Canada. Middleweight champion Anderson (The Spider) Silva will headline an April mixed martial arts show, putting his belt on the line against Thales Leites, Sportsnet's Joe Ferraro confirmed Tuesday.
The news that UFC 97 was being scheduled for April 18 at the Bell Centre was reported earlier Tuesday by MMAweekly.com.
Silva (23-4) will make his first title defence since a TKO victory over Quebec's Patrick (The Predator) Cote on Oct. 25 in Chicago. Sources within Silva's camp confirmed the matchup.
Leites (14-1), one of the UFC's top middleweights, is coming off a first-round defeat of Drew McFedries by rear naked choke. It was the fifth straight win for the submission specialist.
The UFC made its Canadian debut on April 19, 2008, which saw Montreal's Georges St. Pierre beat Matt Serra for the welterweight championship in front of a raucous, record-breaking crowd of 21,000-plus. The UFC expects a similar crowd for its return to Canada.
The UFC had tried on a number of prior occasions to hold an event in Canada. The Bell Centre was the most viable option -- mixed martial arts is not sanctioned in Ontario -- but the Montreal Canadiens schedule proved to make things difficult. The organization finally managed to secure a Saturday during the first round of the NHL playoffs. The UFC appears to be trying to do the same thing this year.
NOTES: While no other bouts have been reported, Cote, who hurt his knee in his bout with Silva, will likely miss a chance to fight in front of his home crowd for the second straight year because of injury. He recently underwent successful surgery but isn't expected to be ready to fight again until at least June. … St. Pierre, who next defends his belt against B.J. Penn on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas, will also likely not be able to compete in the second event in Canada. The UFC's welterweight star typically takes three-to-four months off between bouts.
