MFC bails on Brandon, moves MMA event

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This article was published 17/08/2010 (5770 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Maximum Fighting Championship has bailed on Brandon less than a month before its scheduled mixed martial arts debut at the Keystone Centre.

While the Edmonton-based organization has still yet to officially inform the Keystone Centre that it has pulled the plug on the planned Sept. 10 event, MFC 26: Retribution, spokesman Scott Zerr confirmed Monday that the event is being moved to the River Cree Casino just outside of Edmonton. Zerr cited a lack of local accommodations as a major reason for the change as an estimated 2,500 delegates are expected to descend on Brandon that weekend for the Manitoba Metis Federation’s annual general assembly, with at least four of Brandon’s biggest hotels already completely booked. But Zerr also took a few parting shots at the Keystone Centre.

"Probably the most significant one was the lack of hotels that are available in Brandon during the week," Zerr said last night. "There is a big First Nations event there and they’ve taken up quite a number of the hotel rooms and we had staff, television and fighters staying at three different hotels and we’re short of rooms to begin with out there. And then we’ve probably … received well over a couple hundred calls from fans in Winnipeg and the area that wanted to come to the fights in Brandon but they couldn’t get a hotel room, so they are not coming. So the lack of hotel availability is reason No. 1.

"And then … it’s been very difficult to tie up some business dealings in Brandon … It’s been a real lackadaisical approach, kind of thing, and we move a lot quicker because in this business, things have to be done very quickly and just the very slow approach, slow-moving approach to business operations there have just been very difficult to deal with."

Strangely, the MFC’s own website last night was still promoting the event as scheduled for Westman Place, with Zerr claiming they had sold between 1,000-1,200 tickets.

"As far as we were concerned, a month out, we were in good shape, ticket-sale wise," said Zerr, who issued a press release on the move late last night. "But then things seemed to take a backwards spin with some misinformation that was coming out."

A local Ticketmaster official confirmed they received a number of phone calls Monday concerning the change in venue, but still had not received official word from the promoters and were unable to offer refunds yet. Keystone Centre general manager Dan Robertson also said the MFC had yet to contact him, with his phone calls to the organization unreturned yesterday.

"I have been trying all day to reach them and haven’t been able to reach them, nor get call backs," Robertson said.

"… Certainly it would have been nice to officially get some notice. And as far as the loss of the event, we are certainly looking to bring new and different entertainment to Brandon and we really want to give the people of Westman an opportunity to see different entertainment … and unfortunately it looks like this isn’t going to be one of those events."

The MFC event, which was expected to feature the likes of Brandon fighter Curtis DeMarce, will now go head-to-head on the same night in Edmonton with another card put on by The Fight Club.

Robertson remained puzzled at the MFC’s reasons for changing venues.

"There was nothing like something they needed and we were refusing to do," Robertson said. "We were certainly prepared to work with them to do whatever it is was needed to be done … I don’t think ticket sales were hugely strong. As we all know, Brandon is a bit of a last-minute town and I think that probably — I can only guess because I haven’t spoken with them — but I suspect that may have played some role in deciding to go elsewhere."