The rough go Saturday’s UFC 186 has encountered since its announcement in January is hurting ticket sales, according to several reports. A report from French-Canadian website MMA Nouvelles said the UFC took half the available seats off the market at Montreal’s Bell Centre, which holds between 15,000 and 19,000 seats for MMA events, according to the venue’s website.
In an email, a UFC official confirmed the promotion is “now in a lower-bowl configuration” and said ticket holders who purchased seats in the venue’s upper decks are now being relocated. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and requested anonymity. The official also declined to say when the decision was made or how many people were affected by it.
A ticket rep from the Bell Centre said the venue’s 300 and 400 levels are no longer available for sale, though it appears tickets in the 200 level also aren’t available on the venue’s ticketing website. Multiple ticket reps confirmed to MMAjunkie that as of midday Thursday, 5,400 tickets had been sold for the event.
On Tuesday, the UFC got some good news when ex-champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was cleared for a co-headliner with Fabio Maldonado. The promotion had tapped popular local draw Steve Bosse to face Maldonado when Jackson was enjoined from competing at the event in connection with a lawsuit filed by Bellator. An emergency order allowed Jackson to compete.
According to MMAFighting.com, another emergency order by Bellator failed today in court. A call to Jackson’s lawyer wasn’t immediately returned.
UFC 186 originally was scheduled to feature a bantamweight title rematch between champ T.J. Dillashaw and ex-champ Renan Barao. Two months later, an injury to Dillashaw scratched him from the card, prompting the UFC to install a flyweight title bout between champ Demetrious Johnson and Kyoji Horiguchi as the headliner.
A co-headliner between Canadian star Rory MacDonald and Hector Lombard was also scratched when Lombard failed a drug test in connection with UFC 182.
According to the Bell Centre’s website, tickets range from $62.50 to $403.50 (Canadian dollars). Even at the lowest price point, ticket holders sit far closer to the UFC’s octagon than they would in a normal configuration.
The UFC previously has held six events in Montreal, selling out the arena on multiple occasions – especially in events headlined by now-retired welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.
If you're Looking for Seats at UFC 186, they'll be Closer to the Cage
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