UFC 115 in Vancouver may have been dealt a knockout blow, apparently because the city and the mixed martial arts organization have yet to resolve insurance-related issues.
After rumours of a possible cancellation, UFC president Dana White reportedly told sportsnet.ca yesterday that the June 12 event has been moved to Cincinnati. No official announcement has been made.
Paul Lazenby, a former fighter and advocate for mixed martial arts, said that the Vancouver Athletic Commission pushed to have the event go through, but the city’s licensing and animal control division held up the process.
“They basically continued to express legal concerns without offering any solution,” said Lazenby. “We keep asking them ‘what do you need?’ and they keep telling us what we don’t have.”
Lazenby said the licensing office had asked the UFC for higher levels of insurance and medical testing than it ever had to obtain in any other city. These “roadblocks” were thrown in, said Lazenby, because nobody wanted to say a definite “no” but instead, stall the process until it was too late.
In December, Vancouver City Council had voted 6-3 to approve a two-year trial period for MMA, but several issues remained unresolved.
