UFC returns to Ottawa in May, first bouts added to card

On May 4, the UFC will return to the capital city of Canada. The promotion officially announced this long rumored UFC Ottawa card on Wednesday.

As first reported by BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton, this UFC Ottawa card will feature a middleweight contender bout between Canada’s Elias Theodorou and American wrestling specialist Derek Brunson. This bout could potentially serve as the card’s main event, though the UFC is still considering other options.

The UFC officially announced this bout shortly after confirming the card.

The promotion also announced a host of other bouts for this UFC Ottawa card, featuring several of Canada’s top talents (via TSN).

This will mark the UFC’s second trip to the Canadian capital. The first occurred in June of 2016. Unlike the first UFC Ottawa card, which went down at TD Place in the city center, this event will go down at the Canadian Tire Center just outside the city, which is the home arena of the Ottawa Senators. The venue change might have something to do with the air conditioning being broken at the previous card.

The first UFC Ottawa card was headlined by a welterweight contender bout between Rory MacDonald and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, which Thompson won by decision. This bout served as MacDonald’s last in the UFC before he migrated to Bellator.

The card also featured a welterweight scrap between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Patrick Cote, the first ever UFC women’s flyweight bout, which pitted Valerie Letourneau against Joanne Calderwood, and an instant classic between Steve Bosse and Sean O’Connell. Elias Theodorou also fought on the card, picking up a decision win over Sam Alvey.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/19/2019.