Jose Aldo (UFC)
July 21 pay-per-view UFC’s first trip to Alberta
There is no denying the UFC’s success in Canada.
The promotion on Saturday announced its next visit to the country officially is a sell-out. UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch takes place July 21 in Calgary, Alberta, and will be the UFC’s first visit to the province.
UFC 149 is set for the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Canada’s third largest city. The main event features a featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and top contender Erik Koch. The co-main event is a light heavyweight bout between former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Thiago Silva.
Tickets for UFC 149 went on sale to UFC Fight Club members on Thursday and to UFC newsletter subscribers on Friday. They went on sale to the general public on Saturday.
The UFC has not been to Canada since UFC 140, which took place in December in Toronto. But when UFC 149 was announced for Calgary, UFC president Dana White said the promotion would also be holding UFC 152 in September in Toronto and UFC 154 in November in Montreal. The promotion is likely to again visit the three key Canadian cities in 2013, as well.
In addition to the main and co-main events, UFC 149’s main card includes a heavyweight fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cheick Kongo, a middleweight bout between contenders Michael Bisping and Tim Boetsch and a welterweight bout between Thiago Alves and Siyar Bahadurzada