VANCOUVER, British Columbia – In retrospect, the timing could have been better. Or maybe it just couldn't have been worse.
UFC 131 marks the second time in as many years that the worlds' biggest MMA organization has visited this city, and unfortunately for the UFC, all eyes are not exactly on the Octagon this weekend.
With the Vancouver Canucks tied in a 2-2 Stanley Cup finals series against Boston – and game five headed here on Friday night – Saturday's UFC event seems to be almost an afterthought for most of the city's sports fans.
"It's tough. The UFC couldn't have come to Vancouver on a tougher day, or at a tougher time," says Shawn Tompkins, a Canadian-born MMA trainer now living in Las Vegas.