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The Canadian province of Ontario has long been against holding mixed martial arts contests in its jurisdiction, but has finally relented after seeing how much money can be generated in the region. Therefore, money comes before safety and the UFC seems to be the big winners regarding the recent decision.

Dana White, the head honcho of the UFC, is taking advantage of this change of heart while he can and has scheduled a MMA event at the Rogers Centre in the city of Toronto for April 30th, 2011. The UFC 131 event is expected to attract a sell-out crowd of about 60,000 people in the covered baseball/football stadium.

The event was announced at a press conference in Toronto recently, but other than the date there aren’t really any more details about it. The participants and fight card will be announced at a later date and there will be a UFC Fan Expo held the same weekend in Canada’s largest city as a way to promote the sporting enterprise.

White and the UFC have been trying to break down the barriers in Ontario for several years now, but the government remained steadfast even though the provinces of British Columbia and Quebec have hosted UFC events. The government said it will start taking applications for MMA events on Jan. 1st, 2011.

White believes a UFC 131 event in Toronto will set North American attendance records for the sport as well as a record for gate receipts. He said that MMA is such a huge sport in Canada and that the country already holds UFC records for gate receipts and attendance. He added that people have been waiting years for a card in Toronto and it looks like it’s finally going to happen.

When asked who might headline the card, White said he’d like to have Georges St-Pierre involved, but isn’t sure if he’ll be ready to fight in April because he just fought in the Canadian city of Montreal at UFC 124 on Dec. 11th. St.-Pierre beat Josh Koshcheck in a rematch in Montreal to defend his welterweight title.

White said that he’s confident UFC 131 will be a huge success no matter who fights on the card. He believes the UFC has numerous stars in its stable and fans will be happy to see any of them fight in their hometown. He pointed to the fact that some of the sport’s biggest names are from Brazil and they’re well known all over the world.