UFC in Vancouver, Will it happen??

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by MistyMountainHop

It's been Raymond Louie who's been going against UFC, not Gregor.

That's a BS excuse. Does some backbenching MP get to call the shots in Ottawa? No, Harper does.

Officially moved to Cincinatti:

http://tsn.ca/mma/story/?id=315955

I'm not a huge UFC/MMA fan, but I do enjoy it. This is an absolute joke, and the reason why we're known as no-fun. Within a month of the Olympics we have this horse-shit? I'm disgusted with this mayor and council.

[GeeCee]

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[whalley13]

if you read the tsn article the problem is not with city council, its that no insurance company would insure the event due to the province not 'indemnifying' each city

[MistyMountainHop]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

That's a BS excuse. Does some backbenching MP get to call the shots in Ottawa? No, Harper does.

That's only because Harper has exercised an unprecedented level of control over his own MPs. Harper's style of government is not normal for Canada.

Besides, this has been more of a provincial issue than a local one.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whalley13

if you read the tsn article the problem is not with city council, its that no insurance company would insure the event due to the province not 'indemnifying' each city

But, if you read between the lines, or actually the exact minutes of the city council, you'll see they don't want it. Proof is Raymond Louie screwing over the MMA expo at the PNE.

If the city wanted to make it happen, it would happen. End of story.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by whalley13

if you read the tsn article the problem is not with city council, its that no insurance company would insure the event due to the province not 'indemnifying' each city

No, the problem is squarely on the shoulders of city council. It was the council who threw up these ridiculous insurance demands that nobody in their right mind would insure. This event was rumored to become the highest insured sporting event in the history of planet earth!!! There is absolutely no need for such crazy insurance. Its just another smoke screen that council tries to pass off in order to shift the blame from where it rightfully belongs-on them. This is Walmart, and the WhiteCaps stadium all over again. Bottom line: Vancouver city "clouncil" is filled with nimby morons who continually keep this city from reaching its fullest potential by dreaming up new ways to punish business and progress of any kind. (unless it has to do with a bicycle or a tree).

[ozonemania]

I'm a bit torn on this. On a personal level, I really don't like the idea of MMA. MMA to me is just a bunch of thugs who have learned a bunch of different fighting styles and mashed them together for pure human carnage. Which is kind of insulting to the whole philosophy of what traditional martial arts are supposed to be about.

But, I'm not imposing my own moral judgements on others, as mine is just as valid as the next guy's.

So, I'm not a supporter of MMA, but not against the city hosting these types of events. It's a well-recognized entertainment event and people clearly enjoy it, that's fine.

As for city council, the current state regarding MMA has been their doing. I'll say this first, I am a fan of Gregor Robertson; I like him. Unfortunately, this issue indicates to me that he needs to provide stronger leadership, direction, vision and unity on issues if he is going to operate an effective council.

If his 'vision' is to get rid of the 'No Fun City' and make Vancouver's tourism and entertainment scene vibrant, then he has to instill this vision with the standing council in an uncomplicated way. Without strong sense of purpose, individual council members resort to personal insecurities in making decisions, rather than thinking of things in a more purposeful way.

When I see situations like this, all I can think is that some councillors make things more complicated than they need be in order to prove their relevance.

[Vancity]

Council, and Robertson are all idiots.

No wonder Vancouver is known as a "no-fun" city.

What a joke.

[Prometheus]

Sports Connected just reported that UFC in Vancouver is not totally dead yet.

Statement from Potentially Fun City: "Not so fast No Fun City!"

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Sports Connected just reported that UFC in Vancouver is not totally dead yet.

Statement from Potentially Fun City: "Not so fast No Fun City!"

UFC is excellent at exerting pressure here. On the other hand the city looks like absolute amateurs.

[jlousa]

Seems Penny Ballem is the person with the power, quite the change for the days of Judy Roger.

Mixed Martial Arts
a) UFC event -

At March 24, 2010 meeting, the Commission passed the following motions:

THAT the Vancouver Athletic Commission (VAC) approve the application
from Zuffa LLC, doing business as Ultimate Fighting Championship, for a
VAC Promoter's License for 2010.

THAT the Vancouver Athletic Commission (VAC) approve Zuffa LLC,
doing business as Ultimate Fighting Championship, event on June 12,
2010 at GM Place, subject to:
- receipt on an indemnity and insurance, to the satisfaction of the City
Manager; and
- receipt of $150 (Canadian) to the VAC for the VAC event fee.

[Locked In]

Not dead yet...

Last ditch effort: UFC gives City of Vancouver a 24-hour deadline for June 12 event

By Chris Parry and Steven Marrocco, Vancouver SunMarch 30, 2010

VANCOUVER — The Ultimate Fighting Championship will stage a pay-per-view mixed martial arts event at Vancouver's GM Place on June 12, but only if the City of Vancouver can sort out a myriad of insurance and liability issues by the end of the business day Wednesday, according to Marc Ratner, former executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission and current VP of regulatory affairs at the UFC.

"Our demise was greatly exaggerated," Ratner said Tuesday from Montreal, where he was preparing for the UFC 113 event scheduled to take place in that city on April 8, "but we have 24 hours."

According to Vancouver councillor Dr. Kerry Jang, while possible, such a timeline would appear unlikely to end the long-running debate on how to indemnify the city against the possibility of being sued by a participant or spectator.

"The insurance companies are concerned that we're talking about what is in fact an illegal activity according to federal law," says Jang. "This is why Ontario hasn't allowed it. We were told by [Heritage and Culture Minister] James Moore that the law would be changed, but that hasn't happened yet. The B.C. Attorney General [Mike De Jong] sent us a letter in December waving his pom-poms saying 'Yay UFC,' but they haven't addressed this issue, they've just thrown it back at us."

Asked what piece of the puzzle would need to fall into place in order for the event to go ahead, Jang said, "The provincial government would need to step up and provide indemnification, and we need assurances that an insurance claim would not be denied because of this outdated piece of Criminal Code."

Ratner insists, while the billion-dollar fight promotion was already working on an alternate venue, a lot can happen in 24 hours.

"I think we’re very close right now, he said. "We’re certainly working hand-in-hand with the mayor’s office and the city council, and hopefully we have what they want."

"With all the different things we do, you need a couple of months,” he added. “Sixty to 70 days. It’s getting right around that area ... I thought we’d have it done by now."

B.C. Attorney General Mike De Jong told media Tuesday that the provincial government was prepared to give blanket regulation to the burgeoning sport, but that individual municipalities would miss out on the economic benefits that such events bring if ceding control to the province.

[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Source: Vancouver Sunl

[LotusLand]

Looks like UFC is back on now according to Vancity Buzz:
http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com/2010/03/ufc-115-vancouver-canceled.html

[Mininari]

Woah.
Suddenly the testosterone levels skyrocketed.

[trofirhen]

What exactly does UFC stand for? ............

[WaxItYourself]

CTV has posted an article concerning the UFC as well and it being back on in June.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local..._100331/20100331?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship

[WarrenC12]

Looks like it's back on. I heard about plans for Sept but it looks like June 12th is the day.

Gregor lives for another day, but Vancouver city council still looks like bungling amateurs.

[Smooth]

City of Vancouver and UFC reportedly come to agreement: UFC 115 is on at GM Place
By Chris Parry, Vancouver Sun
March 31, 2010 3:37 PM

The Ultimate Fighting Championship event scheduled to be held at GM Place on June 12 will go ahead after all, with the UFC and the City of Vancouver finally having hashed out liability and insurance terms for the mega-event, according to media reports.

The fight promotion juggernaut had given the city until end of business today to put its fears of legal calamity to rest and allow the event to go ahead, and that pressure appears to have paid off as UFC President Dana White has reportedly told the Canadian Press that the event is on as scheduled.

The Vancouver Athletic Commission held a three-hour meeting Tuesday night of which VAC commissioner Mirko Mladenovic said "We really went into it with the city last night, started kicking some backside."

Mladenovic hadn't confirmed personally that the event was on at the time of writing, saying "I haven't heard one hundred percent yet so, really, I don't know how to think."

UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner told the Vancouver Sun, "Dana will be the only one making comment, and he'll likely do that after tonight's event at the post-fight press conference," likely around 8:30 p.m. Pacific.

Federal Minister for Heritage and Culture James Moore was enthusiastic to hear the news, sending out a note on Twitter saying, "Great news for Vancouver & MMA fans: UFC 115 in Vancouver is a GO for June 12th. I'm there!"

City staffer Tom Hammel, who has been the point man on figuring out how MMA could be properly regulated in the city, says there's still a lot to do before everything is locked down, but admits a lot of issues were sorted out with the VAC the previous night.

"At the athletic commission, we talked about the requirements for the event, the rules the commission will apply. We now need to get the commission focused on hiring a doctor for the event to oversee the medical procedures. We're already talking to a number of phsyicians to take on that role."

After months of bureaucratic slogging, Hammel indicated that, for the first time, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

"I don't see any problems with it. The commission will approve the judges and refs proposed by the promoter. We need to confirm amounts of insurance, see the evidence of insurance liability and medical insurance, and we need to get a security deposit for the commission costs. We need to see the security plan - they're working on that now, but it would need to be reviewed by the police."

Hammel says the event, should it be confirmed, won't necessarily open the floodgates to smaller professional MMA promotions in Vancouver, as the two-year pilot program the city has put in place addresses each event individually as a one-off, rather than confirming permanent standards for events.

"Each one that'll come through, we'll have to deal with on a trial basis, and at the end of two years, we'll report back on the experience, any changes that are needed, the city will decide if it wants to continue and, if so, what terms and conditions will be used going forward."

The UFC event will bring upwards of $5 million in tourism to the city, according to officials in Montreal where two previous events have drawn large contingents from outside the province.

The announcement comes hours before the UFC’s latest TV event, UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Gomi was due to kick off in Charlotte, North Carolina.

UFC 113 will take place in Montreal on April 8 – the third pay-per-view the promotion has staged in that city. Vancouver will become the second Canadian city to host the fight promotion, a situation the company hopes will pressure Ontario into legalizing the sport there.

Vancouver City Council voted 6-3 in January to re-regulate MMA after a three year moratorium on the sport. The vote put in place a two-year test period during which the city will gauge how much money can be made on the sport, where the money should go, and how to regulate it going forward. The UFC event on June 12 will be the first event under that structure.

Mixed martial arts is considered the fastest growing sport in the world today, mixing boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, Muay Thai, taekwondo, judo, jiu-jitsu and karate in fights that take place in a padded cage over three-to-five five-minute rounds. Competitors can win by knockout, referee stoppage, submission or judges decision.

[email protected]

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/back+Vancouver+Place+June/2749718/story.html

[Spoolmak]

Yesss in your face Cincinnati! I'm definitely going

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

What exactly does UFC stand for? ............

Some interesting info about the acronym here