UFC admits misstep, moves Sunday event out of Salt Lake City

Eyebrows were raised when the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced its first event in Utah would be held on a Sunday night.

The organization would be asking the largely Mormon population base in Salt Lake City to attend a fighting event on a day traditionally reserved for rest.

UFC president Dana White conceded the miscalculation Monday and announced the unprecedented decision to move the UFC on Versus 2 card on Aug. 1 from Salt Lake City to San Diego.

"Our television ratings in Salt Lake City have always been strong, and when we finally found the opportunity to bring a UFC event there with a great card, I was very surprised and disappointed in ticket sales," White said in a release. "As a result, for the first time in UFC history, I decided to pull the plug."

Bill Colbert, the director of the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission, said the decision was unfortunate.

"We went from excitement to deep sadness," he said.

Colbert said Utah fans often procrastinate on buying tickets but knew holding a Sunday event would be a challenge.

"It was very much uncharted territory for us. We have never had any sort of MMA event on a Sunday," Colbert said. "We were hoping the UFC name would help overcome that, but it just doesn't fit with our demographics.

"Our population doesn't generally like going to sporting events on a Sunday. It's worked for the (NBA's Utah) Jazz with a couple of playoff games, but it's not an ideal situation."

Colbert said UFC executive Marc Ratner assured him Utah is "still on the radar" for a future event.

"We look forward to hopefully getting another opportunity to work with them at some point," Colbert said.

Fans who bought tickets at a Smith's outlet or the arena can obtain a refund at the point of purchase. Phone and Internet purchases automatically will be refunded.

The main event, a light heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Vladimir Matyushenko, remains unchanged.

■ 'TUF' FINALE -- Court McGee will fight Kris McCray for "The Ultimate Fighter: Season 11" title on a UFC card at the Palms on Saturday.

The card, which airs tape-delayed on Spike (Cable 29) at 9 p.m., features a main event bout between light heavyweights Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine.

Several other cast members from this season will be in action, including a main card bout between Jamie Yager and Rich Attonito.

■ STRIKEFORCE IN L.A. -- A 195-pound catchweight bout between Robbie Lawler and "Babalu" Sobral will headline a Strikeforce card in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced on a conference call last week the winner would be in line for a title shot in his respective division.

Lawler normally competes at middleweight (185 pounds), while Sobral is usually a light heavyweight (205).

Sobral has not fought since losing the title to Gegard Mousasi in August, and says the layoff helped him regain his focus and recover physically.

"Sometimes it's good to get your ass kicked, and sometimes it can come back to haunt you," he said on a conference call. "Mentally, I'm more prepared for this. I can't wait to come back and fight."

The event will air tape-delayed on Showtime (Cable 240) at 11 p.m.

■ WEC EVENTS SET -- Former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner fights for the first time since losing the belt to Ben Henderson in January when he meets Kamal Shalorus in the main event of WEC 49 in Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday.

The card will air live on Versus (Cable 38).

WEC 50 will take place at the Palms on Aug. 18, the organization announced Monday.

Dominick Cruz will put the bantamweight title on the line for the first time against Joseph Benavidez, and Urijah Faber will make his debut at bantamweight.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.