The Ultimate Fighting Championship could be closer to a June event in Vancouver than anyone realizes.
While the popular mixed martial arts organization has long been pressing for a summer date in Vancouver – going as far as booking a date at GM Place – city council has been publicly debating the legitimacy and regulation of the sport.
Or at least until Friday night, when councillors Heather Deal, Kerry Jang and Suzanne Anton attended the Honour Combat Championships amateur MMA event at the Edgewater Casino.
HCC and promoter Gerry Gionco (who held an MMA event at Fraserview Hall the same night) were granted special permits so the city could use them as “test” events.
Halfway through the event, Deal and Jang seemed to jump off their Vision Vancouver fence and embrace the sport.
“This looks like a very well managed evening. The crowd is well managed, the athletes are clearly very good at what they’re doing and we’re having some exciting matches,” Deal said during the event, seemingly swept up in the excitement.
She then told media plans are already well underway to accommodate the UFC, even if the city’s moratorium on professional MMA is not lifted by June.
“We have been working on that June match and things are looking very good for the approval of that as a pilot match,” Deal said. “The final things haven’t been signed off on, but we’re getting there. I think it’s reasonable for [the UFC] to expect that to go forward.”
The news comes as no surprise to Jonathan Agnew, the local fighter who took the HCC main event with an impressive first-round submission.
“There’s no turning it down. There’s just too much money, to be brutally honest,” said Agnew, who is venturing into professional MMA next. “What bad thing can you say [about Friday’s event]? Nobody got hurt, everyone goes home happy, and there is nothing dirty about it. I’ve never been in a more respectful sport in my life.”
HCC marketing director Trevor Dueck told 24 hours the event was “mission accomplished.”
“City council was very impressed,” he said. “They told us it’s a green light, that it’s going to be sanctioned. All it takes is to come and watch an event. You see what it’s about, and you see the sportsmanship and it’s not as brutal as you think it is.”
Heading into the night, Coun. Jang said MMA was not his “cup of tea” and he had serious concerns about the health and safety of the fighters.
But, like Deal, it didn’t seem to take long for him to do a complete 180.
“A lot of concerns I had about the health and safety have been alleviated,” Jang said halfway through the eight-fight card. “Some of these promoters are really working hard to bring our concerns into the rules so that these matches are safe, so that they’re entertaining and not a blood sport.”
