UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and UFC president Dana White made the announcement today at a press conference at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to grow as an individual,” said Wright, who begins his position May 31.
“He brings a nice blend of business and sports experience to [the job],” Fertitta said.
White and Fertitta said the Canadian office and Wright’s hiring are part of their “full-court press” to expand regulation of the sport in the country, specifically in Toronto, which currently bans the sport. UFC officials eventually plan to host a show in Toronto, and Fertitta said the office will help spread word about the sport’s growth, safety track record, and ability to bolster local economies.
“There’s no doubt he’s the man to lead the charge,” White said. “He’s going to get it done ASAP.”
With the UFC’s successful expansion into Europe, Fertitta said that Canada – which produces 17 percent of the UFC’s total business – was the perfect locale to focus their new expansion efforts.
“When we thought about what we had accomplished in the U.S. … we decided we had a product we really wanted to take global,” Fertitta said. “Obviously things have gone well for us in the U.K. and Europe.
“As we sit here today, our focus is now Canada.”
White said the UFC currently has 140 to 150 employees. Like the UFC’s U.K. office, which opened in 2006, the Canadian office will employee approximately 12 to 15 people.
“The office will operate much like the one in the U.K. does,” White said.
To date, the UFC has hosted three shows in Canada, all of which came in Montreal beginning in 2008. Next month, after weeks of regulatory wrangling, the organization hosts UFC 115 in Vancouver. Additionally, the UFC’s sister promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting, makes its Canadian debut next month when Edmonton hosts WEC 49.
Wright said that ideally the UFC will host three annual shows in cities throughout Canada. However, White wouldn’t confirm reports that the organization has tentatively planned a March 2011 UFC event at the Rogers Centre. But he said Toronto and many other Canadian cities are on their radar.
