With UFC 158: "St. Pierre vs. Diaz" in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, just around the corner, what better time for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to unveil the date and location for it's next event on Canadian soil?
On Monday (March 4, 2013), next surfaced that the Octagon will travel to the province of Manitoba for the first time in history for a live event on June 15, 2013 -- likely to be a pay-per-view (PPV) titled UFC 161.
The organization typically hits three Canadian cities per year, with Montreal and Toronto being mainstays. In 2011 the Octagon hit Vancouver, in 2012 it was Calgary and in 2013 Winnipeg will get the honors of hosting a major mixed martial arts (MMA) event.
To date, the UFC has put on 12 fight cards in Canada - six in Montreal, three in Toronto, two in Vancouver and one in Calgary.
According to "Showdown" Joe of Canadian news outlet Sportsnet, the event will be held at the MTS Centre in downtown Winnipeg, which serves as the home to the NHL's Winnipeg Jets and can seat roughly 15,000 spectators.
No further details regarding the event or a potential fight card have been released at this time; however, Brazilian news outlet TATAME is reporting two light heavyweight contests of Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua could take place at the event; however, neither match up has been confirmed by UFC officials.
MMAmania.com will have more details on the June 15 fight card as they become available.