“Two men were put on this earth. One threw a punch. Everyone else stopped to watch.”

By Matt King
Peja Bulatovic

Addressing a crowd of hundreds at the Eaton Centre on March 23, Dana White told fans that he is determined to bring Ontario a mixed martial arts event in the near future.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is very confident it will be holding events in Ontario in the near future.

UFC President Dana White was in Toronto at the Eaton Centre last week for a fan and press event, which featured a question and answer period as well as autographs with Canadian fighters Sam Stout and Krzysztof Soszynski.

The main topic of discussion was when the first UFC would come to the Air Canada Centre. Montreal will soon be host to its second event, while Canada’s largest city and economy has yet to welcome one.

While the sport has been sanctioned in British Columbia and Quebec, as well as much of the United States, fans here are acutely aware that the sport is not sanctioned in Ontario. Numerous petitions have been circulated here urging a change in the situation by what is believed to be a particularly strong fan base.

The problem lies in the criminal code where the “prize fighting” is seen as a crime. The criminal code defines prize fighting as “an encounter or fight with fists or hands between two persons who have met for that purpose by previous arrangement made by or for them” and mixed-martial arts falls under this definition.

There are exceptions made for boxing matches which have stipulations regarding gloves and include athletic commissions that sanction the fights.

White has been very vocal about his desire to bring the UFC to Ontario, but understands the situation he is facing.

“It’s tough to change laws. It takes time,” says White. “This is the mecca of mixed-martial arts, and we’re working hard to get an event here.”

Premier Dalton McGuinty has recently come out and said that the topic of regulating the UFC in Ontario is not at the top of his priority list. White chose to look at this in a positive way.

“He said it’s not at the top of his list – but he didn’t say it wasn’t on his list either. It shouldn’t be on the top of his list, he is running the government.”

The media has often called out fans and participants of the sport as being “savage” or “uncivilized,” but White believes that the education process is the most difficult part of getting the sport sanctioned in Ontario. The majority of nay-sayers argue that the sport is too violent, and it is simply too dangerous to be sanctioned.

When White was asked about injuries in the sport, he emphatically responded, “There are more deaths and more serious injuries in cheerleading than in the UFC.”

The comment got a rise out of the crowd gathered last Wednesday, who packed the atrium in front of the Sears store.

British Columbia recently announced a two-year trial period for the sport. This, in a way, has set a precedent for White and the UFC to follow. With Montreal and Vancouver already holding events, he hopes Toronto will not be far behind.

“I think we have made a lot of progress. I am going to keep coming here until this thing gets done,” said White.

“We are asking for government regulation, there is no reason it shouldn’t be regulated.”