May 20, 2010
BY WEB STAFF
sportsnet.ca


UFC president Dana White.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to hold a press conference next Tuesday at Rogers Centre in Toronto, where the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts organization says it will make a "major announcement."

UFC president Dana White and chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta will be in attendance at the event, which was announced Thursday and will include a media Q&A.

MMA is currently illegal in the Ontario, and it is no secret the UFC has been putting a lot of effort into getting it regulated in the province, which represents one of its largest fan bases in terms of pay-per-view buys. Earlier this month, during the week leading up to the UFC’s third event in Montreal, the organization sent a delegation to meet with Ontario officials to discuss the current roadblocks in getting the sport legalized.

While MMA is sanctioned in many other provinces and municipalities in Canada, including Vancouver where UFC 115 will be held next month, officials in Ontario have long been opposed to legalizing it. Ontario Athletic Commissioner Ken Hayashi has always cited Section 83 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which prohibits certain forms of prize fighting. Each province can apply the law as it deems fit.

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recently said the sport was not among his priorities right now.

White, who has often referred to Canada as the “mecca” for MMA, has also recently expressed interest in holding a Canadian version of its popular reality series The Ultimate Fighter.

There is already a rally scheduled this Saturday afternoon at Queen's Park, the site of the Legislative Assembly, in Toronto title "MMA Day.