European fans embraced the return of the UFC to the United Kingdom, packing the Manchester Evening News (M.E.N.) Arena with a sellout crowd of 14,921 — about $2.6 million at the gate — for UFC 70: “Nations Collide” on April 21, according to the Canadian Press.
It was the first show for the UFC in England since UFC 38 at the Royal Albert Hall in 2002, which attracted about 5,000 spectators.
What a difference a few years make, heh?
During post-fight remarks, UFC President Dana White admitted he was “disappointed” with the lack of action on the card. However, that’s apparently not stopping him from trying to coordinate another UK show later this year — perhaps September — according to MMAWeekly.com.
In addition, there is also some discussion about putting together The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) UK in the near future.
Here’s a snip from White:
“We’re talking … about that right now. We’re talking about doing The Ultimate Fighter UK, I was talking to him all night about it…. Yeah we’ll do it — it’s coming.”
UFC 70 also “broke every merchandise record,” selling more stuff inside the venue than any other event in the 12-year history of the M.E.N. Arena.
Not bad … not bad at all.
9 Comments »
I tend to wonder when is too much too much.
Well………it’s a business. It’s doing what Zuffa re-created it to do
The skill standard of other MMA organisations in the UK is pretty poor, as is the TV coverage and production of events. UFC 70 will hopefully get the UK MMA scene to up its ante and produce quality instead of riding on the success of the UFC. When, not if, MMA takes over the other “combat” sports in the UK, there has to be quality in depth, otherwise fools in the British media will carry on spouting that it’s a fad. Well done the UFC I say. More competition in the UK is better for the sport.
hey what happen to Machida/Heath fight?? I know machida won but how come they didn’t show after showcasing it on the UFC 70 preview
[quote comment=”41768″]hey what happen to Machida/Heath fight?? I know machida won but how come they didn’t show after showcasing it on the UFC 70 preview[/quote
because the fight sucked. you think people were booing at the AA fight? how would you like to see two guy’s dance for 15 min.? good thing they had the 12 hrs to edit that fight out on spike
WAAHHOOO UFC….for IAN there is rumor by dana after UFC70 that they want a TUF UK edition…isnt that exciting!!!
Bring an event to AUSTRALIA Dana, please I’ll shout the Beers, think about it, think about it.