There are a few ways in which Canada can keep MMA as a stable of its culture. Hockey is the overwhelming #1 sport in the nation, but at some point in the past couple of years MMA overtook, then promptly lost the #2 spot. With the Toronto Raptors making the playoffs last year, basketball most likely took over reign as the second favourite sport of Canadians.
So, how can MMA avoid slipping further down the totem pole to a place where only hardcore MMA fans in Canada follow the sport? The answers are simple, and all of them are just three letters long.
How MMA in Canada Can Be Saved
Read Part 1: 2014 A Major Blow to Canada In the MMA Business
TSN
Maybe not the three letters you were expecting. I’ll get to the greatest Canadian fighter in a second, but the biggest concern right now in Canada isn’t the return of their champion. Sportsnet’s deal with the UFC ends in late 2014. Sportsnet will likely not strike another deal with the UFC, and that will mean that the UFC will not have a home on a national sports channel in Canada.
If you want to kill a sport, having it excluded from television is an easy way to do that. The internet is a powerful place, but television still holds a strong place in sports. Hardcore fans will be willing to buy Fightpass, but the sport cannot grow if casual fans don’t see coverage of the events with their morning sports highlights.
Since Sportsnet has a monopoly on hockey for the next 12 years, TSN will have to turn to alternative sports programming. They have a lock on basketball, and on the NFL, but to compete with hockey, they’re going to have to pick up another sport, and it looks like the rights to UFC coverage will be up for grabs come 2015.
If TSN, Canada’s self proclaimed “sports leader” can cover the UFC and other organizations like WSOF, which they already have the rights to, then MMA could stay alive as a mainstream sport in Canada.
GSP
The Canadian MMA market needs Georges St. Pierre. They can survive without him, but not right now. There are other Canadians that are at the top of their divisions, but until one wins a championship, St. Pierre will be the only Canadian MMA fighter that is well known in Canadian culture. Having him return for a super-fight of sorts in 2015 would throttle the interest of MMA in Canadians.
If GSP does return to the UFC, you would have to put him in a main event in Montreal or Toronto. These shows would sell out and bring tons of local and national media attention. Not only would this bring attention back to the sport, but it would also give fighters like Rory MacDonald and TJ Grant a chance to become more well known among casual Canadian fans.
If MacDonald wins the UFC Welterweight Championship, then Canada will have a new champion, and GSP can ride off into the sunset. Until then though, Canadians need a bigger reason to care about MMA. If GSP returns, it will hype the profile of MacDonald, and Canada will hopefully see a new star born.
UFC
Although the UFC cannot be at fault for Sportsnet’s cancellation of UFC Connected and GSP’s semi-retirement, they can have a big impact on getting Canadian fans back into the palm of their hand.
The UFC took three very mediocre events into Canada this year, but can make it up to the fans in 2015. Having a champion who has yet to fight in Canada, like Ronda Rousey, Chris Weidman or Anthony Pettis would almost guarantee a sell-out crowd. There are also fan favourites like Dominick Cruz, Frankie Edgar and Mark Hunt who have never fought in Canada and would be great on a Toronto card.
There is also the return to Montreal that has been rumoured for early 2015. The most logical fight for that event would be Rory MacDonald challenging the winner of Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. This fight would no doubt bring a ton of attention to MacDonald, especially considering the last time Canadian fans had a big interest in a UFC event, they saw their champion GSP get knocked around by Hendricks.
The story line creates itself. Georges St. Pierre is the true champion of the UFC’s Welterweight division, as he was never beaten for his title. Hendricks now carries that championship that should belong to Canada, in the eyes of Canadian fans. In steps MacDonald, the hungry and dangerous 25-year-old protégé of St. Pierre to bring the belt back to its homeland. The Montreal fans will sell out the arena, and hopefully Canada will embrace MacDonald as they once did GSP.
The UFC also owes Calgary and Winnipeg events in the near future after putting on two of the most boring, uninteresting and decision heavy cards in the history of the UFC. Those fans have been promised by Dana White that the UFC would return with something big, so 2015 seems like a good year to cash in on that promise.
Canada has been spoiled by the UFC in the past, and Canadian MMA fans are lucky to be seen as some of the best in the sport. The problem is that places like America and Brazil have similar passion, but see far more events. Canada earned its title of “Mecca of MMA” in 2011, and the UFC owes the country a lot. In 2015, Canada will either retain that title, or the sport will continue to fall out of relevance in the minds of the true north strong and free.
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