Although the UFC had seemed to lay out its plans for 2014 in Canada early this year, two of the planned pay-per-view dates in the Great White North appear to be in flux.
During a January press conference, UFC Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright announced that UFC 178 would take place on Sept. 27 in Toronto, while UFC 181 would land on Dec. 6 in Montreal.
It now appears that both of those dates are in jeopardy of not happening.
The highly anticipated rematch between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Alexander Gustafsson has been inked for Sept. 27, but company officials have not yet determined the location.
While he didn’t totally nix Toronto as a possibility, Wright confirmed during the UFC Auckland post-fight press conference on Saturday that Sept. 27 is no longer a lock for the Canadian city.
“We’re still trying to figure out where 178 is going to be,” said Wright. “A decision hasn’t been made. Waiting to here from Lorenzo (Fertitta) and Dana (White) on that. We’ll probably find out early next week because we obviously have some planning we have to do.”
He added that Montreal’s date is also likely to change.
The UFC’s officials website now has UFC 181 slated for Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, with Wright saying that they are now targeting next year for a possible return to Montreal.
“In terms of Montreal, it’s the same sort of thing,” he said. “We’re mostly likely looking to move that fight to March of 2015.”