UFC's White excited for Chicago return

CHICAGO | Through more than three years of hearing Chicagoland fans ask when the Ultimate Fighting Championship would return to the area, Dana White remained patient.

On Saturday, for the first time since October 2008, the UFC will hold a show in the nation's third largest media market. UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis will take place at a sold-out United Center in Chicago and will be nationally televised on Fox and Fuel TV.

At a Thursday press conference at the W Hotel City Center in Chicago, White said the promotion was glad to finally return - and expressed his satisfaction in tickets being sold out, despite the fact anyone in the country can watch the main card for free on Fox.

"We're pumped to be back here in the United Center - this thing is sold out," White said. "And (we're) in our second big fight on Fox. The first one drew 9 million viewers for 1 minute of fighting and an hour of talking, so we're hoping this one's going to pull much bigger numbers with a lot more fights. We're excited about it."

The UFC made its Fox debut in November with a one-fight heavyweight championship broadcast to introduce the sport to newer viewers on the network prior to a seven-year broadcast deal that started on Jan. 1. The Saturday show will be the UFC's first official Fox broadcast under the new deal.

But despite a lot stretch away from Chicago with the biggest brand in mixed martial arts, White said the UFC has kept a strategic eye on the market.

"We kept building the sport and build the brand (in Chicago), and this one ends up being a sell-out even though it's on free TV," White said. "I'll tell you how important Chicago is. We actually came in eight or nine months ago and did a focus group here trying to figure out how to get in here. One of the things about Chicago, Boston, New York, all these traditional big sports cities - you guys have had 100 years with the Cubs, the Bears, the Bulls. So trying to get into a big market like this with a new sport has been a lot of work. But we're getting there, and it's been great."

Headlining light heavyweight Rashad Evans, a Michigan State wrestling product who has lived in Chicago for more than three years, including sporadic training visits with East Chicago native Miguel Torres at his Hammond gym, said fighting in his adopted hometown has been a good change of pace.

"It's a pretty big deal to be here," said Evans, who fights fellow wrestler Phil Davisin the main event. "I've got a lot of friends and family coming in, and it cost me a lot of tickets. But it's a chance for everyone to come in and see me fight. It's good to fight someplace I feel pretty comfortable, but at the same time I'm not trying to be too comfortable because I've got to fight."