Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has already booked a date, place and time for its first-ever trip to Vancouver after the local city council recently passed a two-year "trial" period to regulate mixed martial arts.

According to the Canadian Press, the promotion will likely head north of the United States border for the third time when it storms the GM Place on June 12. That, of course, is just several weeks after UFC 113, which is slated for Montreal on May 1.

When it rains it pours, eh?

GM Place — the (approximately) 19,000-seat home of the NHL’s Canucks franchise — has long been the target for a possible June 2010 date. In fact, the company already has the support of the Aquilini family, which owns GM Place, along with the Canucks.

In 2009, UFC officials, including former Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director, Marc Ratner, helped make the case for the promotion to city officials. Ratner pledged that the UFC would absorb the entire cost of insuring fighters — a sticking point with Vancouver city councilors — as well as providing for additional security on fight night.

It apparently worked like a charm.

And it's no surprise that the promotion wasted no time getting on the event calendar -- Canadian fans account for 15 to 20 percent of the promotion’s business, which he called its largest per capita success story.

Get the poutine ready, Canada.

(This report is a FanPost from Alpha Male promoted to the front page and updated by Adam Wagner to include additional information)

via mmabay.co.uk

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Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end turned mixed martial artist, Marcus Jones, has retired from the sport, according to AroundTheOctagon, citing a source withing the Gracie Tampa camp.

Jones was among 16 heavyweights featured in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 series on Spike TV. The 6'6," 245-pound "Big Baby" was considered a dark horse to make it to the finals, boasting a decent record (4-1) heading into the series.

In fact, Rashad Evans -- the opposing coach on the other side -- waited as long as possible to match up Jones against one of his fighters. And it was probably for good reason -- Jones submitted Mike Wessel then obliterated Darrill Schoonover to reach the semifinals.

He was the only fighter on Team Rampage to advance beyond the preliminary rounds; however, his run ended in the semifinals when Brendan Schaub turned his lights off to earn a spot opposite Roy Nelson in the tournament finals.

After the loss, an emotional Jones hinted at retirement, saying that he wasn't sure if he wanted to keep putting his family through the torment that often follows most professional fighters. In addition, his 36-year-old body showed signs of slowing down with several injuries on the show, including an injured knee that almost forced him off the program.

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