Vancouver will host UFC 115
The show will go on after all.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been set to host UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia, for some time, but the organization threatened to move to another locale because of last-minute issues with the liability and insurance terms.
The posturing led Vancouver officials to quickly get everything worked out, and the UFC officially announced it will hold its first Canadian card outside of Montreal as planned.
"Our Canadian fans are among the most loyal and enthusiastic in the world, and we are thrilled to bring the UFC to Vancouver," UFC president Dana White said in a release.
The City Council passed a two-year trial period for mixed martial arts in December but was still concerned about whether the city could be held liable if something were to go wrong at the event.
■ PROMOTING STRIKEFORCE — CBS has been doing all it can to promote its broadcast of the April 17 Strikeforce card in Nashville, Tenn., including a barrage of promos during the NCAA basketball tournament.
Several Strikeforce stars, including Dan Henderson, Gilbert Melendez, Frank Shamrock and Cung Le, will also appear in tonight’s episode of "NCIS: Los Angeles." The plot involves lead character Sam Hanna, played by LL Cool J, going undercover as an MMA fighter to investigate some members of a gym.
"NCIS: Los Angeles" airs at 9 on CBS (Channel 8).
The April 17 card includes a middleweight title bout between Henderson and champion Jake Shields, as well as title defenses by lightweight champion Melendez and light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi.
■ COUNTER-PROGRAMMING — The UFC decided not to put together an April 17 event to go up against the Strikeforce card. But UFC will have a TV presence that night.
Spike (Cable 29) announced Monday that it will rebroadcast UFC 110, an event that aired on pay per view on Feb. 20, at 9 p.m. on April 17.
The card featured a Cain Velasquez victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the main event.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.
