UFC eyes biggest arena audience ever

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UFC eyes biggest arena audience ever
Friday, July 24, 2009 | Print Entry

Posted by Jake Rossen

AP Photo/Jon Super
Island bopping: A Hawaiian homecoming for B.J. Penn would do record attendance numbers.
The UFC's current attendance record stands at 21,451 for a Canadian trek in April; if all goes according to plan, that number could suddenly become a line to the bathroom.
With Hawaii having recently eased up on the tax demands for live sporting events, the UFC is now apparently amenable to hosting a show at Aloha Stadium, which seats 50,000. (This is per Dana White during a Q&A session at July 10's Fan Expo in Las Vegas.) That B.J. Penn will headline or co-headline the card is possibly the most super-glued guarantee in sports history.
Penn hasn't fought in his home state since a July 2005 bout with Renzo Gracie at Aloha, which attracted 12,000 people -- but that was mere months after the "Ultimate Fighter" added some rocket fuel to the sport's popularity; probably not enough time to capitalize on the interest.
Four or five years on and backed by the UFC's considerable marketing muscle, a crowd double or even triple that would be expected.
If a sellout is the goal, the UFC would probably have to create a top-heavy main draw, up to and including a compelling opponent for Penn: Lightweight contenders Gray Maynard and Diego Sanchez might not cut it.