UFC 101 Could Take Place In Philadelphia
By now it must be clear to all of you that as a lifelong Philadelphia native, I am a huge mark for just about any MMA news relating to the “City Of Brotherly Love”. That being said, I almost fell out of my chair a few minutes ago when I read that UFC 101 could indeed take place in my own backyard at the Wachovia Center, in south Philadelphia. For those who don’t know, the Wachovia Center is a 20,000 seat venue which houses Philly’s professional hockey and basketball teams, the Flyers and the 76ers.
I have stated before that since MMA is now kosher in Pennsylvania, a UFC event at the Wachovia center would stand to do extremely well given the popularity of mixed martial arts throughout Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. Heck, my MMA school alone (of which there are many in the area) is probably good for at least a couple dozen tickets, give or take.
Before I get even further ahead of myself, it should be noted that nothing is officially confirmed at this time regarding UFC 101’s venue, however the Wachovia Center is still unbooked for Saturday night, August 8th, which is a strong sign.
Sorry Portland, but we have been very, very patient.
The three bouts already confirmed for UFC 101 are:
- Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
- Forrest Griffin vs. Thiago Silva
- Melvin Guillard vs. Thiago Tavares
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i’d be pissed if i lived in portland… but I live in edmonton, so really, I don’t care all that much.
I’m am a little pissed about the info that i just read in this article. I also have been very patient and have waited for a long time for the ufc to come to Portland. The Ufc needs to consider all the fans that would be very disappointed with the ufc if they chose to change venues. Please stay with Portland.
I was really close to purchasing plane tickets to go to Portland for the fights….I guess I’ll be holding off until plans are official.
I live in Philly and this is great news and some great fights! I wish Frankie Edgar was on this card! Does anybody else know of any other rumored fights for this date?
Raleigh has waited a long time, and they even teased us by going to Fayetteville (90 minutes away) and then not having it open to the public.
Dana bring it to PHILLY!!! I live in West Chester so this is great news for me!
Eric,
How can you consider the Flyers a hockey team? We here in Pittsburgh just consider them a bunch of goons.
Now to the topic at hand: Yeeha finally the UFC has come to Pennsylvania. Looks like it would be a good one to go see. They have to make a great first impression with the card the set up.
The Hurricanes have won the Cup more recently than either team… even if they haven’t been back to the playoffs since.
So stoked about UFC101 coming to Philly. Live right in the burbs and me and my friends are def going and tailgaiting all day at the Wach.
Removed unnecessary hockey player bashing – Justin
Try being an Islander fan…ugh. At least we’ll get the first pick this year.
Wait Wait Wait, Portland can harldy keep a NBA team and can support no other sports. Hmmmmmm…..which is a guarantee sell out: Portland or Philly? Pulling crowds from Philly, NJ, MD, DC, WV, VA, DE, and NY and NYC………compared to Portland and Seattle…….
Portland, Seattle and Vancouver!
Has anyone been to any UFC weigh-ins before? I plan on attending UFC 101 in Philly. Just wondering if the weigh-ins will be on that Fri. night before the event on Sat? Where will they take place? In the same arena? Any help on this would be great…thanks….
The weigh-ins will definitely be on Friday, August 7th. Whether they will be at the Wachovia Center hasn’t been confirmed but it’s highly likely. The weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The weight in’s arent right before the fight? Coming from Baltimore and need to plan it out to drive to Philly
Kat,
The fighters always weigh in a day in advance of the event. That gives them enough time to rehydrate and be ready to go come fight time, since most fighters “cut weight” to make the weight class restricted weights.