Ontario to legalize MMA!
The sport of mixed martial arts will be legalized in Ontario, Canada, the Ministry of Consumer Services announced on its website.
The Ontario athletic commission is expected to adopt the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts — currently used for all sanctioned professional fights in North America — to regulate and sanction MMA in Ontario.
Sanctioned events are expected to begin in 2011, with events expected to be announced by several different organizations.
Politicians said sanctioning MMA wasn’t a priority, and the matter would be addressed in due time.
Ontario is expected to host 10-15 live MMA events each year, with the UFC expected to flock to the areas as quickly as possible. The UFC already has plans for a March 2011 event in Toronto — though it’s unknown if it will be hosted at the 20,000-seat Air Canada Centre, or 60,000-seat Rogers Centre. I’d rather see an event in the Air Canada building, but the UFC may think it can sell out with a GSP main event at the Rogers Center.
I think it’s great the UFC and other MMA organizations will finally be able to host events in Toronto and the rest of Ontario. Zuffa-owned UFC first tested the Canadian waters with a show in Montreal in April 2008, and has seen success ever since. WEC also has hosted events in Edmonton and Vancouver with good success.
There is some debate as to whether or not the UFC should delay the Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck welterweight title fight until March 2011 — and I think that delaying the fight would be an absolutely horrible idea. I think GSP and Koscheck should fight, and then the title holder will face the winner between Martin Kampmann and Jake Shields.