Big thanks to Dann Stupp from MMAJunkie for the story:
The Ultimate Fighting Championship could return to Newark, N.J., for a March 2010 event, a source close to the organization today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
The event is expected to take place at the Prudential Center, which was home to UFC 78 in November 2007, and presumably would be dubbed UFC 111.
However, the UFC has made no official announcement regarding the show. Additionally, though "there have been discussions about a date and location," Nick Lembo of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board told MMAjunkie.com no event has been finalized.
Although the UFC was once a frequent guest in New Jersey and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City earlier this decade, only one event has been held in the Garden State in the past four years: UFC 78. The event, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping, drew 14,071 attendees for a solid $2.1 million gate at Newark's Prudential Center.
UFC 111 would take the March slot that had been reserved for Ohio the past three years. Beginning in 2007 and concluding this year, the UFC held a pay-per-view event in Columbus in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival, a three-day sports and fitness exhibition that helped the UFC score massive crowds, including 19,079 attendees in the 2007 debut.
UFC president Dana White recently said the UFC won't return to Columbus in 2010. But as MMAjunkie.com reported, the organization's sister promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting, has agreed to take the spot instead and will make its Ohio debut during the first week of March.
No fighters or matchups have been determined for the potential UFC 111 event, though the organization has a handful of fighters from New Jersey, including Frankie Edgar, Kurt Pellegrino, Dan Miller and Jim Miller.
For the latest on UFC 111 and other future cards, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
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