UFC reserves dates in Dublin, London Manchester

Niall0

UFC UK division president Marshall Zelaznik - who also wears the snappy handle ‘Vice-President of International Development’ - says the organisation has reserved a number of dates throughout the UK and Ireland this year.

“We are holding (reserving) dates in Ireland [in 2011]. I think we are holding dates in June and October. After this (Australia) I am actually flying back to Las Vegas and we are going to hold a meeting and start planning out the second part of the year,” he told MMA Fighting.

“Ireland will be on that list, Scotland will be on that list. The UK could happen as early as June… this meeting next week is important to shake all that out… We are holding dates in Manchester in June, Liverpool we’re holding dates.

“Its a tricky game trying to get the dates to work with the US TV calendar but we are motivated as ever to bring events to Europe.”

The UFC was last in the UK in October last year and while a schedule of numerous smaller ‘Fight Night’ shows was promised for the British Isles in 2011, that seems to have fallen through. A planned first-quarter show was scrapped and a mooted May visit to Scotland has also been binned as the country has no suitably large venues.

London and Manchester look to be the most likely destinations for the UFC when it next returns, as both have proven to be big-selling venues for the company. Manchester has hosted two events to London’s four, but was the company’s jump-off point for its 2007 return to the UK. That show - UFC 70 - is best-remembered for Gabriel Gonzaga’s head-kick KO of Mirko CroCop.

http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=6294

rivalius13

This brings great pleasure to me.

I know I'm jumping the gun here, but what were tickets like for the last one? Price/position/availability wise.

d_jordan

rivalius13 wrote: »

This brings great pleasure to me.

I know I'm jumping the gun here, but what were tickets like for the last one? Price/position/availability wise.

I got the tickets for about 80euro and thought they were great

Mellor

I'd be so much happy if he said Dublin.
but any news is great news

rivalius13

Mellor wrote: »

I'd be so much happy if he said Dublin.
but any news is great news

Well, Ireland means Dublin, Belfast or, the obvious third option, Belmullet.

johnny_adidas

wont be going again until we get a decent card (which will prob be never), i didnt even go to watch the last one live in the pub

Jayo_M

johnny_adidas wrote: »

wont be going again until we get a decent card (which will prob be never), i didnt even go to watch the last one live in the pub

The last card in Ireland had some great matches and serious starpower on paper. If you think thats a bad card, then I don't know what you're expecting.

dave1982

Jayo_M wrote: »

The last card in Ireland had some great matches and serious starpower on paper. If you think thats a bad card, then I don't know what you're expecting.

Agreed i think they thought they were in Vegas for 93

johnny_adidas

93 was a great night in fairness. shouldve said i was talking about the latest uk cards in general since , 95, 105 and 120 have seriously lacked top draws. (randy excluded but it wasnt a great fight imo. Comment re pub referred to 120)
I dont think id go to another Irish show in Dublin anyway if im honest, enjoyed 85 in the O2 london more. (not even sure why)

sonic.trip

i'll believe it when its on the ufc website. So many promises so far.

rivalius13

sonic.trip wrote: »

i'll believe it when its on the ufc website. So many promises so far.

They're coming Paddy's day, didn't you hear!?!?

dave1982

rivalius13 wrote: »

They're coming Paddy's day, didn't you hear!?!?

sonic.trip

rivalius13 wrote: »

They're coming Paddy's day, didn't you hear!?!?

paddy's day, no didn't hear that one

drayme

"we're coming"

drayme

News coming out this weekend is that there will be no UK show this year.

They may run Sweden at they very end of the year.

unknown13

drayme wrote: »

News coming out this weekend is that there will be no UK show this year.

They may run Sweden at they very end of the year.

I am not surprised to be honest. Bisping is tied down with TUF, who would headline it?

drayme

unknown13 wrote: »

I am not surprised to be honest. Bisping is tied down with TUF, who would headline it?

Didnt think about the Bisping aspect but really good point.

Germany is unlikely too btw.

Xlami

The speculation is beyond frustrating. I know the UFC likes to reserve multiple arenas to keep their options open but I much rather if they were just honest and said we will or we won't be returning to UK/Ireland in 2011. Instead of releasing irritating pissy little bits of information.

Nanoc

Maybe they'll hold it in England just because of the Bisping aspect or hold the TUF final there? I dunno sick of speculating anyways, I'm surprised they dont even do some fight nights over here!

Tbh I bet strikeforce will be the more frequent visitor.

rivalius13

Looks like all that talk of Liverpool in October was guesswork.

Oh, and Paddy's day is a Saturday next year. Just saying....

fightireland

rivalius13 wrote: »

Looks like all that talk of Liverpool in October was guesswork.

Oh, and Paddy's day is a Saturday next year. Just saying....

Well I'll cancel that hotel in Liverpool so :-(

To be honest I'm shocked by the lack of a UK event considering the commercial success of the previous events.

the_doctor199

I'm a little surprised also, but look at all the events this year, Sydney and Brazil are the only ones outside of North America so we certainly aren't the only place not getting an event.

Here's a few quotes from Marshal Zelzanik's Facebook page, not much info but still..

We are working on some things. Issue right now is finding venues here that work with our TV dates.

...our TV dates in the US are in flux right now so it is hard to plan. For better or worse we still need the US dates to finalize and then we look to fit the UK venues into that schedule. It is tricky but we are working on some things.

JoeyJJ

Regarding cards outside North America

Not sure if it was the MMA hour podcast or not but I remember hearing about the possibility of another Dubai event possibly this year. I bet Anderson won't be on that card!

Xlami

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v51YELekFwo

This video is an interview with DW from just after 130. I agree that with Bisping tied up the only other person big enough to headline a card would be Daley and in this video he dismisses talk of Daley's return. He also gives the same line of "working on it" when asked about Sweeden.

Xlami

fightireland wrote: »

Well I'll cancel that hotel in Liverpool so :-(

To be honest I'm shocked by the lack of a UK event considering the commercial success of the previous events.

John Roche's latest facebook status posted just 5 minutes ago "Had good info UFC is coming to Liverpool Ech Echo Arena Liverpool"

unknown13

People can we just forget about the whole concept about the UFC coming to the UK and Ireland. They continually make broken promises to the MMA fans here and when they come they fill the cards full of shít fights. Lets forget about them until they offically announce something.

unknown13

unknown13 wrote: »

. They continually make broken promises to the MMA fans here.

I dont think they ever promised, did they ?

unknown13

Deleted User wrote: »

I dont think they ever promised, did they ?

Yes, they promised many times.

the_doctor199

Not unexpected, but still..

Hearing now it isn't happening. RT @punch2theface89 sup man, do you know whether Oct 15th has been confirmed for a UFC visit to the uk?

Not looking good right now. Don't shoot the messenger RT @TheHarrison101 @arielhelwani How come Ariel what's happened? No UK show this year?

Richy06

I think a lot of it has to do with the tape delay. If the card is a dud, then people won't pay for it and they won't waste a good fight card on a free show.

Another thing that might be coming into play is that the UFC's deal with Spike is nearly up, so f**k knows where they might end up. This would put a stop to them booking TV cards until they know their situation.

Until then, there's f**k loads of live MMA in Ireland in the coming months featuring some great fights and fighters. So head along to them to sate your live MMA appetite until Zuffa throws us another bone!

DrPhilG

the_doctor199 wrote: »

Here's a few quotes from Marshal Zelzanik's Facebook page, not much info but still..

Poor oul Marshall got a bit of a toasting on facebook since then though.

What a load of crap about venues. When the agreement with Setanta involved a guaranteed 4 events per year, they had no problem with venues. Now all of a sudden venues are damn near impossible to book?

Aye right.

scudzilla

DrPhilG wrote: »

Poor oul Marshall got a bit of a toasting on facebook since then though.

What a load of crap about venues. When the agreement with Setanta involved a guaranteed 4 events per year, they had no problem with venues. Now all of a sudden venues are damn near impossible to book?

Aye right.

I seen yer post on Marshall's FB, chipped in my 2cents worth, not that it'll do any good at all.
We aint gettin an event this year, that was a given as soon as they announced Dan Hardy was fighting in the U.S, as on the back of 3 losses he would have been the ideal candidate to headline a UK event :rolleyes::rolleyes:

DrPhilG

scudzilla wrote: »

I seen yer post on Marshall's FB, chipped in my 2cents worth,

That was the plan!

Loved what yer man said though (Welsh fella, can't remember his name) about his friend being a PRO at a major arena and basically said that Marshall was full of crap.

the_doctor199

I do get the feeling that Marshall does his best, he is in charge of international events so wants as many events as possible outside of N. America. I think he can only do his best, the big decisions come from Vegas unfortunately.

DrPhilG

the_doctor199 wrote: »

I do get the feeling that Marshall does his best, he is in charge of international events so wants as many events as possible outside of N. America. I think he can only do his best, the big decisions come from Vegas unfortunately.

I've always said to Marshall that I appreciate that he can only do what he can.

Unfortunately he has become a yes man, feeding us crap all the time and it's gone way beyond reasonable.

- TUF didn't air in the UK and Ireland until almost a week after the US release. MZ's excuse was that "these TV deals are more difficult than they seem". Really? so it was too difficult to secure a TV deal in the 3 months between the end of TUF 12 and the air date of 13?

- The excuse being given now for the lack of a UK/Ireland event this year is that "venues are hard to secure". As I mentioned, one of the fellas from Fight Club who responded to my facebook post is friends with a guy in the industry and he told his friend what MZ was saying. His friend replied that MZ is a complete bluffer, giving the example that Duran Duran recently had to cancel a load of arena dates but were able to arrange new venues within a few weeks. Plus like I said before, there was no issue securing venues when 4 events a year was a contractual obligation, yet now it's damn near impossible for some unknown reason?


I know MZ has limited authority etc, but it's getting very tiresome being flat out lied to. If DW or MZ just turned around and admitted that they had to concentrate on other markets and didn't know when they'd be back here, then fine. I'd be a bit annoyed but at least it's the truth. It's these ridiculous elaborate stories about Paddy's day in Ireland, 4-6 Fight Night events a year, Scotland in March, Liverpool in October, blah blah blah.

:mad:

SDTimeout

Guys, don't mean to be a preacher but you could go to a local event. I assume a lot of you do but really my opinion on the local scene has changed this past year. Seeing some fights that would easily make it onto a UFC card.

Mellor

unknown13 wrote: »

Yes, they promised many times.

When?
They've only said they will be back, but hey never set a date AFAIK?

SDTimeout wrote: »

Guys, don't mean to be a preacher but you could go to a local event. I assume a lot of you do but really my opinion on the local scene has changed this past year. Seeing some fights that would easily make it onto a UFC card.

Great point btw

scudzilla

Mellor wrote: »

When?
They've only said they will be back, but hey never set a date AFAIK?

That to me is a promise which they've failed to keep, Dana said at one of his Q&A's, in Newcastle i think, that the UK would be having cards of the same standard as the U.S and will also be having championship fights.

On top of that all the promises made by that muppet Marshall Zelazknik on his Facebook page, i think you get the drift

Mellor

i'm not defending them, I'm jsut sayign they never said they'd be back in 2010/2011 or what ever. I imagine they'll eventually get back, and to them that'll be their promise kept.

The same standard of cards was never going to happen. Not unless a european champion or maybe no1 contender comes about.
Bring back Bas Rutten imo

DrPhilG

They have never set a specfic date, but DW has said many times "we will definitely be back this year" and not followed through.

As Scud said, Dana White said that UK events would have the same quality of card, that was 3 or 4 years ago and has been proven false on a number of occasions.

The point I made in the previous post though, is that the real issue right now is the amount of fluff and nonsense being spouted by MZ. He apparently said on ESPN that there would definitely be at least 1 event late in the year and possibly another in the summer. Both fell through.

Before that he said we'd get 4 to 6 events in 2011, nothing.

Now he's saying that the reason for the lack of events is the difficulty of getting venues, lies.

Just because nobody set a deadline of definitely having an event on a specific date, doesn't mean we're not being lied to and treated like idiots.

PS, I do attend local events, that is irrelevent. I could attend my local football team every week, doesn't mean I wouldn't love to go to a United match now and again.

scudzilla

Just put out by ESPN

The UFC is unlikely to be heading to the UK during 2011 as originally planned, Marshall Zelaznik regretfully revealed to ESPN.

Zelaznik had begun the year with the ground-breaking plan of bringing "four-to-six events" to the UK, anticipating that he could deliver a handful of Fight Night cards over the course of 12 months. Even now, that remains the UFC chief's long-term dream.

However, he always pointed to major obstacles that needed to be overcome, primarily finding suitable dates and venues, and then matching them with the demands of relevant TV partners.

Those obstacles forced the UFC to rein in its ambitions earlier in the year, with Zelaznik working around the clock to create an event on October 15, most likely in Liverpool or London. "We had three good venue options," explained Zelaznik to ESPN.

The UFC chief was so close to making that card take place that he even announced on the ESPN UFC Podcast that there would "definitely be at least one event in the UK this year".

However, problems emerged in May when the UFC's US TV date was forced to change to a different, specific date, where misfortune would dictate no suitable venues in the UK were available. In one swift changing of the goalposts, the UFC went from having three venues to none.

As a result, Zelaznik admits the chances of a 2011 event now stand at "less than 20 per cent", but he is still looking into every possibility, in order to find a solution that is growing increasingly unlikely.

"We are left with trying to convince our [TV] partner to move the date or look to other locations. That is where we are now.

"There is, if I were to put a percentage on it, less than a 20 per cent chance that we will be able to bring an event to the UK this year. We are all gutted over it and the fans who are being so vocal should know we hear them and we will continue to work hard to satisfy them."

Linky : http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/95133.html



Does he really think of us as fools? He's basically saying there's no Arena in the UK that could accommodate them, complete and utter bollox

kainer2

scudzilla wrote: »

Just put out by ESPN

The UFC is unlikely to be heading to the UK during 2011 as originally planned, Marshall Zelaznik regretfully revealed to ESPN.

Zelaznik had begun the year with the ground-breaking plan of bringing "four-to-six events" to the UK, anticipating that he could deliver a handful of Fight Night cards over the course of 12 months. Even now, that remains the UFC chief's long-term dream.

However, he always pointed to major obstacles that needed to be overcome, primarily finding suitable dates and venues, and then matching them with the demands of relevant TV partners.

Those obstacles forced the UFC to rein in its ambitions earlier in the year, with Zelaznik working around the clock to create an event on October 15, most likely in Liverpool or London. "We had three good venue options," explained Zelaznik to ESPN.

The UFC chief was so close to making that card take place that he even announced on the ESPN UFC Podcast that there would "definitely be at least one event in the UK this year".

However, problems emerged in May when the UFC's US TV date was forced to change to a different, specific date, where misfortune would dictate no suitable venues in the UK were available. In one swift changing of the goalposts, the UFC went from having three venues to none.

As a result, Zelaznik admits the chances of a 2011 event now stand at "less than 20 per cent", but he is still looking into every possibility, in order to find a solution that is growing increasingly unlikely.

"We are left with trying to convince our [TV] partner to move the date or look to other locations. That is where we are now.

"There is, if I were to put a percentage on it, less than a 20 per cent chance that we will be able to bring an event to the UK this year. We are all gutted over it and the fans who are being so vocal should know we hear them and we will continue to work hard to satisfy them."

Linky : http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/95133.html



Does he really think of us as fools? He's basically saying there's no Arena in the UK that could accommodate them, complete and utter bollox

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now and probably even less in Ireland. And the big venues are booked up in advance and they have to work with the TV companies who may not have free dates either. Then there are flights, hotels, booking crews and working around their North American schedule too. This situation could get worse next year in the UK cos of the Olympics.

Any promoter on this board will tell you that booking an MMA show is not easy...multiply that by a 1000 (or so) and then you got the UFC

DrPhilG

kainer2 wrote: »

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now and probably even less in Ireland. And the big venues are booked up in advance and they have to work with the TV companies who may not have free dates either. Then there are flights, hotels, booking crews and working around their North American schedule too. This situation could get worse next year in the UK cos of the Olympics.

Any promoter on this board will tell you that booking an MMA show is not easy...multiply that by a 1000 (or so) and then you got the UFC

No offense, but absolute cobblers (from Marshall).

There are so many people who have highlighted MZ's nonsense on facebook if you read the comments. Aside from the earlier comments about Duran Duran rescheduling arena events at short notice, there's another comment from a guy who follows an ice hockey team who play at the Nottingham Arena (10,000 plus). He says that if any other company wants to book the arena, the hockey team's game is rescheduled, even as close to 2 weeks out.

And the biggest reason for me that this is BS is simple. When the UFC had a deal with Setanta that forced them to put on 4 events a year in Europe, it was accomplished without a hitch. It's a bit too suspicious that when there is no contractual obligation, booking arenas suddenly becomes the hardest job on earth.

Anakin.S

kainer2 wrote: »

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now and probably even less in Ireland. And the big venues are booked up in advance and they have to work with the TV companies who may not have free dates either. Then there are flights, hotels, booking crews and working around their North American schedule too. This situation could get worse next year in the UK cos of the Olympics.

Any promoter on this board will tell you that booking an MMA show is not easy...multiply that by a 1000 (or so) and then you got the UFC

The UK & Ireland does not have a big enough MMA fan base to fill a stadium/arena with 10,000 plus.

All the top shows in Ireland very rarley, if ever sell out and I'd say over 80% of the people attending have connections to clubs/fighters on the card

DrPhilG

Anakin.S wrote: »

The UK & Ireland does not have a big enough MMA fan base to fill a stadium/arena with 10,000 plus.

Are you serious? UFC 93 sold out like lightning and would do so again.

In London, the O2 holds about 17,000 and has had attendances of;
16,235 - UFC 75
15,327 - UFC 85
13,268 - UFC 95 (low attendance but bear in mind the horrendous card)
17,133 - UFC 120 (Expo weekend)

Also did just short of 17,000 for 105 in Manchester.

Anakin.S

Ok, so I obviously don't have a clue what I'm talking about with UFC.

DrPhilG

Anakin.S wrote: »

Ok, so I obviously don't have a clue what I'm talking about with UFC.

Didn't mean to sound like I was having a go, I honestly thought you might have been being sarcastic!

The UFC is a huge brand. Bear in mind that the local crowds are generally either friends and family, affiliated to the club or die hard fans.

What the UFC is able to attract is all those hardcore fans plus the casual fan who recognises the name and watches on TV but hasn't a clue that there even is a local scene.

Anakin.S

Didn't think you were having a go.

Your point about local fans is what I was trying to get at.

MrStuffins

kainer2 wrote: »

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now

This is complete and utter codswallop! Every major city has at least 2 huge venues. That doesn't even include the hundreds of sports stadia with over 10000 capacity that it would be possible to book! I mean, you could have a show in Rochdale and still have a capacity of 10000.

Anakin.S wrote: »

The UK & Ireland does not have a big enough MMA fan base to fill a stadium/arena with 10,000 plus.

All the top shows in Ireland very rarley, if ever sell out and I'd say over 80% of the people attending have connections to clubs/fighters on the card

This is wrong also. The tickets for UFC 93 sold out in less than a week.

Off topic, am I the only one getting tired of people going into the UFC threads and preaching about local shows?? You're too cool to like the UFC, we get it!

If i went into a "Bring The Rolling Stones back to Dublin" thread and said "Lads, forget them. You can go to see local bands. They're really good too" i'd be told to F*ck off!

Richy06

Anyone who likes or supports the local MMA shows are all UFC fans too. It's not a case of trying to be too cool for everyone, it's just people trying to spread some awareness is all.

MrStuffins

Richy06 wrote: »

Anyone who likes or supports the local MMA shows are all UFC fans too. It's not a case of trying to be too cool for everyone, it's just people trying to spread some awareness is all.

Well i'd like to spread awareness for some things too, I just bring it to the appropriate places.