UFC Considering Hosting an Event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is considering hosting an event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway later this year the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Monday.

Speedway president Chris Powell approached UFC president Dana White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta about the idea on Friday when Powell and White were inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

Powell said the idea makes sense, “because we put on big events, and they put on big events.”

White was open to the offer.

“I like it,” said White. “It would be cool as hell, and we have a few fights coming up that could pull it off.”

Powell said his initial vision was to erect a temporary bowl in the infield for a better view of the action in the 1,200 acre complex.

The main concern about hosting an outdoor event is inclement weather.

“We could work with wind. September would be great,” said White.

No specific match-up was mentioned in the initial report, but the UFC has kicked around the idea of a superfight between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and either welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre or light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for some time.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway seats up to 142,000 spectators. The $72 million 1.5 mile track opened in 1996 and is part of a bigger complex that opened in 1971 that includes a road course, a drag strip, and a 3/8 mile short track.

The attendance record for a UFC event is 55,724, set April 30, 2011, at Rogers Centre in Toronto. An event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has the potential to dwarf those numbers.

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