Sioux Falls Joins List of Major Cities to Host UFC Fight Night
UFC will host UFC Fight Night 91 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in July. This is one of the biggest events to come to town and puts Sioux Falls in a special list.
Cities around the world are begging for the chance to host UFC. UFC hosts pay-per-view cards, televised cards, and events on their own personal streaming service UFC Fight Pass. To have any of these types of shows come to Sioux Falls is a pure treat, and the icing on top of it all is that we are getting a Fight Night card that will be televised on Fox Sports 1 nationwide.
It's hard to compare this event to others that have been booked here in Sioux Falls. What I can say is that this is as big and in the same category as hosting the NCAA Women's Division I Regional. Only select cities around the country have the chance to host the UFC.
Sioux Falls will have the chance to host the UFC before New York City does. The MMA ban in New York City has recently been lifted and the UFC will host a PPV card at Madison Square Garden in November.
UFC Fight Night started in 2005 and has put cards all over the country in big venues. Some of those cities include Las Vegas, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Oklahoma City, Boston, New Orleans, San Antonio, Seattle, and Chicago. It doesn't stop there though. UFC Fight Night has been hosted internationally in Brazil, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Germany, Ireland, and the crew will be heading to the Netherlands on May 8. Sioux Falls can now be added to those cities.
Within the region, UFC has also been to Minneapolis and Omaha. Both cities have hosted two shows in the past.
Minneapolis was granted a PPV event in 2008 with Brock Lesnar on the card for UFC 87. The event sold 15,000+ tickets and was considered a success. UFC brought a nationally televised event to Minneapolis in 2012 and only sold about 7,000 tickets.
Omaha has hosted two separate UFC Fight Night cards in their old Civic Auditorium. UFC has not ran a show inside the CentruyLink Center or the new Ralston Arena. In 2008, UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer sold over 9,000 tickets (sold out). On a return in 2012, only about 7,000 tickets were sold for a nationally televised event.
UFC hasn't returned to either Minneapolis or Omaha since their last shows in 2012.
Pressure is on for Sioux Falls. This is a complete home run for the city, region, and the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center to get this event. This show will need to sell out, or come super close, for any future event considerations from the UFC. I don't think we have too much to worry about on that end, and that the event will do well.
UFC will make its debut in Sioux Falls at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center on July 13, 2016. Ticket information will be released in the near future.
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