Results tagged “UFC Philly” from MMA Explosion

from mmajunkie.com:
Any doubts about the ability to draw big crowds in the Northeast will be put to rest at UFC 101.

The Aug. 8 event, set for the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, has already resulted in nearly 14,000 tickets sold and more than $3 million in sales.

UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner discussed the success of the show, headlined by UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn vs. top contender Kenny Florian, with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Wednesday.

The state of Pennsylvania only recently began regulating mixed martial arts, but Ratner said UFC 101 has already shattered long-standing boxing records in The Keystone State.

"We put tickets on sale, I believe sometime at the end of April or early May, and we've sold almost 14,000 tickets," Ratner said. "It's the biggest event in Pennsylvania history, as far as a live gate, already."

I called up Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, this afternoon, with several questions on my mind:

- The UFC traditionally has weigh-ins the day before their events. A by-product of this is that fighters are able to "diet-down" i.e., come in as shredded as they can, hit the maximum weight allowed in their weight class on the mark, and then gain back 10-15 pounds of water weight before their respective fights.

As you probably know, the UFC has announced that UFC 101 will be held at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 8. I asked Sirb - because as I understand it, the state athlectic commission has same day weigh-ins - what would be done in the UFC's case.

"We're going to be discussing that over the next week or two," he said, referring to the himself and the state athletic commission.

On MMA in Pennsylvania in general, Sirb said things are ging great, with no major problems after several shows. Iron Will Fighting, an event that was held in Johnstown recently, drew 3,400 attendees. Respect is Earned's first event, held in Oaks (just outside Philly) had 1,200 spectators, Sirb said.

The next event, this weekend in Reading, Pain on Penn Street, is an MMA-boxing event. When Ia sked what he thought of hybrid events, Sirb said, "We'll see, it might work." I said asked him if he thought, as others have said, that boxing is trying to bring itself up by catching on to MMA's popularity, he said, "Not at all, I think they can both coexist."