Saturday night’s UFC 172 set a record for the largest attendance for an event at Baltimore Arena at 13,485, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White said after the card’s conclusion.
White said the $2.3 million gate ranked second in the building’s 53-year history behind only a Rolling Stones concert.
The numbers only supported what was obvious from the start of Saturday’s fights — Baltimore fully embraced the UFC’s first visit here.
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White highlighted the fact that the seats were filled from the time the preliminary card began at 7:30 p.m., which isn’t the case in most cities.
And the energy certainly didn’t waver, as Jon Jones finished the night by defending his light-heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Glover Teixeira.
When he was asked how soon we can expect UFC to return, White joked, “We’ll be back next weekend.”
It might not be quite that soon, but it’s clear we haven’t seen the last of major mixed martial arts in Baltimore.