UFC president Dana White once stated that Canada was the new mecca of MMA, due to the sports popularity north of the border. In fact, most of the North American records for an event were set at UFC 129: “St. Pierre vs. Shields”, when the UFC invaded the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

So it should come as no surprise to learn that the promotion is targeting 5 events in “The Great White North” for 2013.

That’s the word from the Director of Operations in Canada, Tom Wright, who told UFC Central Radio (via MMA Weekly) about the organizations plans for the upcoming year:

“We’re not that far away from announcing our full 2013 schedule. I can tell you that there’s going to be at least four events in Canada. There’s going to be at least two cities that may surprise a few people when we come out with our schedule and right now we’re looking at an additional three. So a total of five events in Canada for 2013.”

It was also reported that a season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a possibility, which would obviously culminate with a live TUF Finale fight card.

The UFC returns to Canada on November 17th for UFC 154 live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Hometown hero and current welterweight champion, George St. Pierre, will fight interim champion Carlos Condit in the evenings main event.