UFC’s Return to the Maritimes – What to Expect at UFC Moncton?

Via: ufc.com/moncton

On October 27, 2018, the UFC will mark a return to the Maritimes with UFC Fight Night Moncton. There was much anticipation ahead of the announcement, with the UFC featuring a revolving GIF on social media depicting which Canadian province might get a shot at hosting a UFC event. Ironically, New Brunswick was not even lit up as a possibility. Many fight fans across Canada lamented the fact that Moncton received an event over major population centers such as Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto (UFC’s return to Toronto will be this December). So let’s break down why the UFC chose Moncton, and what this event means for the Maritime combat sports scene.

The UFC chose to mark their debut in Moncton, known locally as the “Hub City”. Moncton is centrally located, and a bilingual cultural and tourism hub for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The last card to be hosted in Atlantic Canada was UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Browne, in February 2017. A card in Moncton should also help in drawing New England fight fans, as the drive from the Maine border is roughly two and a half hours.

The City of Moncton has also recently completed the new Moncton Events Centre, a state-of-the-art facility boasting an 8,500 seating capacity, 7-9 concession stands and the first event hosted at the arena will be a Keith Urban concert on September 12th.

No fights have been announced yet; however, Canadian lightweight Chad Laprise threw his hat in the ring and announced he’d be involved with the event shortly after it was announced. Looking forward to the event, a bevy of Canadian names come to mind such as Elias Theodorou, John Makdessi, Aiemann Zahabi, and Halifax native Gavin Tucker come to mind.

Via: twitter.com/ChadLaprise

The buzz around this event has made waves in the small province of roughly 750,000 people. Die-hard MMA fans flocked to the UFC’s return to Halifax in 2017, and Moncton will surely be a special event for the fight crazed Moncton crowd. With announcements coming soon, we should be able to see a card taking shape and Fight Night Picks will be your source for UFC Moncton news and analysis!