UFC Community Works™ makes financial contribution to GEN7 program
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) announced Thursday a financial contribution to Motivate Canada’s GEN7 program through UFC Community Works™ surrounding UFC® 161 EVANS vs. HENDERSON. The UFC Community Works™ program is designed to make meaningful contributions to the Canadian communities where UFC events are held.
On June 15, the UFC will host its first ever event in Winnipeg, with a pay-per-view event at the sold-out MTS Centre. Motivate Canada’s GEN7 Aboriginal Role Model Program recruits Aboriginal youth athlete role models, called GEN7 Messengers, who encourage Aboriginal youth to lead a healthy active lifestyle through sport, physical activity and other means. GEN7 Messengers facilitate the GEN7 program in Aboriginal communities and are trained by Motivate Canada in public speaking and facilitation. They work with a group of youth between the ages of 12 and 29 in the community over a number of visits as a role model and motivator. The GEN7 program supports the personal development of Aboriginal youth, and helps them reach their individual goals. It also supports youth and community members in the development of a community project that will increase participation in sport and recreation.
On June 13, Tom Wright, UFC Director of Operations for Canada, Australia and New Zealand, UFC lightweight contender TJ Grant, UFC welterweights Mike Pyle and Jordan Mein, UFC lightweight Mike Ricci and UFC women’s bantamweight Sarah Kaufman were on hand at Winnipeg Elite Boxing and MMA Academy to announce the donation and help lead youth through a 60-minute boxing and mixed martial arts class. The participants range from age 9-19 and have all benefitted from the GEN7 program in their community.
The UFC Community Works™ program name itself is a double entendre – it speaks to the notion that the UFC is going to do good work in the community and that communities work when they come together. UFC is looking to be a catalyst to promoting change in communities, and has a particular focus on at-risk youth.
Tickets for UFC® 161: EVANS vs. HENDERSON are sold out. The event has already set the MTS Centre record for the largest single-day event gate in the building’s 10-year history. The MTS Centre now joins a list of three other Canadian venues that hold that same gate-record distinction, which includes Toronto’s Rogers Centre, Montreal’s Bell Centre and Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome. Winnipeg is the UFC’s fifth Canadian city to host an event as the organization has made a total of 12 stops
across the country with visits to Montreal (six), Toronto (three), Vancouver (two) and Calgary (one). Home to the National Hockey League’s Winnipeg Jets, the MTS Centre has played host to some of the world’s top entertainment and sporting events but, with the global reach of its Pay-Per-View, UFC® 161: EVANS vs. HENDERSON will be the most widely viewed event originating out of the province of Manitoba – ever.
UFC® 161: EVANS vs. HENDERSON, presented by Alienware, will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Indigo, MTS TV, Shaw Communications, SaskTel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested
retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High Definition. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC
produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, moving to FOX Sports 1 in September 2013.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with nearly 2.4 million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs and video games, UFC FIT®, an in-home fitness and nutrition program, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV
offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.
About Motivate Canada
Motivate Canada’s approach to youth-driven development taps into the natural optimism, energy, curiosity, and adventurous spirit that young people have in abundance. Using the power of sport, physical activity and positive peer role models, Motivate Canada’s four core programs— GEN7, ESTEEM Team, ACTIVATE, and Active Circle—give young people the tools, training and confidence to make a difference in their lives and communities on their own terms. For more information, please visit: www.motivatecanada.ca
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