UFC 129 Sold Out, Shatters Records With 55,000 Tickets
The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday announced that tickets for UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields at Rogers Centre in Toronto on April 30 sold out minutes after being made available to the public. Rogers Centre was originally configured for 42,000 seats, but due to overwhelming demand, UFC and Rogers Centre officials reconfigured the venue to accommodate 55,000.
UFC 129 will be the first major mixed martial arts event to ever be held in Ontario, marking the promotion's debut in Canada's largest city.
The event doubles the largest attendance record in UFC and North American mixed martial arts history. UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2, held at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Dec. 11, 2010, previously held the attendance record with 23,152 fans.
UFC officials also announced that the gate revenue for UFC 129 will also double the promotion's previous record. The previous gate record for a UFC event was $5.4 million, which was set on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz. UFC officials did not yet release the total gate revenue for UFC 129.
With two UFC records already shattered, officials announced UFC 129 as the largest single-day event gate in the history of Rogers Centre, which has played home to some of the world's top entertainment and sporting events.
"UFC continues to set new milestones," UFC president Dana White said. "We've sold 55,000 tickets in our first stadium event in Toronto and we continue to take the UFC to the next level."
"Based on the lightning quick sell-out, there is no doubt that UFC's fan base is extremely passionate", said Silvio D'Addario, VP Events, Rogers Centre. "We've worked closely with UFC to configure our venue to provide the best fan experience possible and we look forward to hosting this historic event."
While UFC 129 is sold out, tickets for the UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto on April 29-30 are still available at www.ufcfanexpo.com. The Expo features the largest collection of UFC fighters ever to appear in one location, exciting special events, interactive Q&A sessions, meet and greets, training and development sessions, the Octagon, and much more.