MONTREAL — The UFC's Canadian debut has become the fastest — and biggest — sellout in the mixed martial arts organization's history.
"Most of the tickets for UFC 83 were sold in the first 24 hours of our UFC Fight Club pre-sale, and the rest were gone within one minute of the public on-sale today," UFC president Dana White said in a statement Friday. "I'm excited to say that this event is a sellout, and the fastest one in UFC history, so it's safe to say we definitely will be back in Canada after this inaugural event."
The Fight Club is the UFC's fan organization.
UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre, set for April 19 at the Bell Centre, pits welterweight champion Matt Serra against former title-holder Georges St. Pierre of Montreal.
More than 21,000 fans are expected at the event.
The Montreal attendance will break the UFC's current attendance record of 19,049, set at UFC 68 on March 3, 2007, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio — a show that produced the biggest crowd ever for a mixed martial arts event in North America.
UFC 82 is set for next month in Columbus.
The UFC said it is "currently researching additional viewing options for fans who could not obtain a ticket to the live (Montreal) event."
