BANGOR, Maine — The UFC is returning to Bangor — sort of.
A taping of the reality program “Dana White: Lookin’ For A Fight” is scheduled to be held in the grand ballroom of the Cross Insurance Center on Friday, Aug. 5.
“It’s a pretty interesting show,” said Chris Young, co-owner and head trainer at Young’s MMA in Bangor.
Young worked with Ultimate Fighting Championship officials and New England Fights owners Matt Peterson and Nick DiSalvo to put together a Bangor mixed martial arts show for White, the UFC president and a 1987 graduate of Hermon High School who owns a home in Levant.
“The basic premise is Dana and a couple of his buddies travel around the country and go to different states and watch fight promotions in those states and they potentially book or sign a guy from the event,” Young added.
White and his comrades also typically sample the cuisine and culture of the areas they visit during each show.
Tiffany Sun, assistant general manager of the Cross Insurance Center, confirmed that the event will take place in the grand ballroom of that facility on Aug. 5.
The venue holds approximately 1,200 people, and tickets will go on sale July 8 with pre-sale to members of the Cross Insurance Center Cyber Club beginning July 6.
That nationally televised event featured Ryan Bader scoring a five-round unanimous decision over Ovince Saint Preux in a battle of light-heavyweight contenders that served as the main event and Lincolnville native Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch returning to his home state to score a second-round technical knockout over Brad Tavares in their middleweight clash.
Young — who will make a formal announcement about the Aug. 5 show on “The Maine Event” podcast scheduled to be available on Facebook at approximately 2 p.m. Saturday — said the upcoming Bangor event came together “in about a week. It was pretty crazy. I was living on my phone for a while.
“We had a contact that let us know that Dana White was really interested in bringing his show to Maine and that he really wanted to do it in August,” he added. “There were no [Maine] shows in August so we contacted Matt Peterson and asked if he could put together a show real quick and Matt pulled it together and we got it done.”
White is expected to be on a brief vacation in Maine at the time of his Bangor show, which will be taped for subsequent viewing on UFC Fight Pass and YouTube.
“When Dana White rings, you answer the call,” said Peterson. “It’s an honor to be able to work with the top promotion in the world to provide a platform for fighters to showcase their talent in front of an international audience.”
The card is expected to include four Young’s MMA fighters — C.J. Ewer, Josh Harvey, Aaron Lacey and Ryan Sanders — competing in separate bouts.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the guys, really solid exposure,” said Young. “I’m excited about it. It’s a pretty big deal.”
Another scheduled bout will have Jon Lemke of Team Irish MMA Fitness Academy in Brewer against Jesse Erickson of Auburn, while Peterson said other fighters on the card will be coming from as far away as Brazil, California and South Carolina.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these athletes to showcase their skills in front of the most powerful person in the sport of mixed martial arts,” said Peterson. “I know they are ready to step up and perform — and are hungry to make an impression on Dana.”
