At long last, the UFC is headed to Maine.
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
UFC president Dana White announced on Thursday that the promotion will hold a Fight Night event at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, ME, on Aug. 16. The event will air on FOX Sports 1 in the United States.
No fights have been announced for the card just yet.
This will mark the promotion's first trip to Maine, a state that legalized the sport in 2009. The Cross Insurance Center opened in Sept. 2013 and can hold anywhere between 5,800 to 8,500 fans, depending on the event.
White has deep roots in the area. He graduated from Eastern Maine's Herman High School in 1987, and he currently has a home in Levant, ME. In 2011, he donated $100,000 to Hermon High School for athletic facility upgrades and to help fund the start of the school's football program.
Former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown (pictured), who hails from nearby Portland, ME, has long said he would love to fight in his home state, but he has flirted with the idea of retirement recently after a string of health issues.