http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2010/08/14/ontario_mma/ THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO -- The Ontario government had a sudden change of heart Saturday and announced it will allow mixed martial arts, starting in 2011. Premier Dalton McGuinty had always dismissed the idea of allowing the bare-knuckled cage matches that characterize MMA -- often with a chuckle -- saying it just wasn't a priority for Ontario families. McGuinty wasn't available Saturday to explain the flip flop, leaving it to Consumer Services Minister Sophia Aggelonitis, who said regulating MMA was the best way to keep the fighters safe. "We have always said that we would be monitoring mixed martial arts and we have been doing that for some time," said Aggelonitis. "We need to have a system in place where we regulate it; that's the only way I can control the safety of competitors." The province will adopt the same rules for MMA events that are widely used across North America, and the sport will be regulated by the Ontario Athletic Commission, which already oversees boxing. "We have an Athletics Control Act ... and we have to make sure the rules that apply in that act are going to be the same for MMA sports," said Aggelonitis. Money was also apparently a motive for the reversal on MMA by cash-strapped Ontario, which is running a deficit of almost $20 billion. The government said one MMA could attract up to 30,000 fans and generate up to $6 million in economic activity. "My other goal is to provide an economic boost for communities who want to hold MMA events," said the minister. The New Democrats said the sudden about-face on MMA is an indication the Liberal government no longer knows what it stands for, but agreed it made sense to regulate MMA for safety reasons. "It's about making sure that this quite extreme support is regulated in a way that makes sure that people are not literally killed or ending up with severe injuries," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. "If it's coming to Ontario, let's make it safe and let's make it something people can enjoy and not simply be a blood bath."
When I went to UFC 97 in Montreal a minimum of 50% of the crowd was from Ontario. I'm sure many people from Ontario went to see it in Vancouver, too. The explosion of MMA/UFC popularity in Ontario has inspired the UFC to open an office in Toronto and target the Rogers Centre as a possible destination for a PPV. The UFC anticipates it can get upwards of 30,000 people to the stadium formerly known as The SkyDome. That is starting to rival the mega-shows PRIDE used to put on in Japan. More importantly, sanctioning will spur a massive growth in indy and amateur MMA in Ontario. Currently, fighters need to travel to the Quebec border or to places like Moncton to compete. Shows are going to pop up all over the province and this will start generating a lot of new Canadian talent in MMA. Plus, hometown fighters like Sam Stout, Mark Hominick, and others will finally be able to compete locally. I find it a bit shocking that the provincial gov't got off it's ass on this issue but I won't get too excited until the events start happening.
I'd go so far as to say a good WEC or Strikeforce show could sell out the Air Canada Centre (Raps/Maple Leafs). Interest is that high.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/20281/aft...atner-very-very-excited-for-toronto-debut.mma Today's announcement that the provincial government of Ontario, Canada, has approved the regulation of mixed martial arts was a thrill to tens of thousands of Canadian fans of the sport. But even the enthusiasm of those rabid supporters might be overshadowed by the joy felt by UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, who played a seminal role in the approval of the new legislation. "This has been almost a three-year gestation period," Ratner today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "We've been going up to Toronto a lot. We're very, very excited. "We're thrilled. The market is so huge there. It's the epicenter of MMA in Canada, and this is just a great development for us." Today's announcement appeared to be a bit of an about-face for Ontario after Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in February infamously proclaimed that mixed martial arts regulation was "just not a priority." But Ratner suggest McGuinty's comments may have been slightly misconstrued. "If it had been a priority with the Premier, that would have meant his priorities would have been out of whack," Ratner said. "We knew that he was never really against it. He just said, 'Hey, when it's time, it's time.'" And that time is finally now.
