The UFC has officially announced its return to Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates, on September 7. The statement said that the UFC will maintain a number of events in Abu Dhabi over the next five years since it arrived to a”revolutionary new venture” with the town’s Department of Culture and Tourism. You can read more about the UFC’s deal here.
UFC 242 will be the first time the Octagon has landed in Abu Dhabi since UFC Fight Night 39 back in April 2014, when Roy Nelson pumped out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at the primary event. UFC 242 is going to be the next time the promotion has held a pay-per-view occasion in Abu Dhabi following UFC 112 back in April 201, the nighttime Frankie Edgar took the UFC lightweight name from BJ Penn..
The UFC hasn’t formally announced any bouts for UFC 242, but rumors continue to swirl about a significant title fight headlining the card. Rumors out there point to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov trying to unite his name with interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. That battle produces a lot of sense considering Nurmagomedov’s Muslim heritage, and the timeframe is perfect because of the champ taking the summer off for Ramadan.
The UFC returning to Abu Dhabi is clearly a good thing for the promotion as this last-minute bargain will undoubtedly bring a lot of extra money to the UFC’s coffers. It remains to be seen if the fighters are going to get any share of this, but the simple fact the UFC proceeds to hold events across the world is a fantastic thing as it will give local fighters from the Middle East presumably the chance to sign up with the UFC and fight within the Octagon. We don’t have any rumors of who will be battling about the card, however you can bet that boxers with a Middle Eastern or Muslim heritage will be reserved for this event.
Besides the statement of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, there are rumors out there that the UFC will head to Australia in October for the middleweight title unification bout between champion Robert Whittaker and interim champ Israel Adesanya. It seemed like initially the plan was for those two to fight in September, but the timing has made it so that struggle is most likely going to occur in October. That’s also a fantastic thing for Jack Hermansson, who has been requesting to headline the UFC’s return to Copenhagen, also in October, since the deadline of that would provide him the best opportunity to resist the winner of the bout.
With UFC 242 being declared for September, we now have confirmation there’ll be an additional pay-per-view in July following UFC 239, plus one more in August, since the UFC has to make up to the cancellation of UFC 233 back in January.
Don’t forget to stay tuned to MMAOB for the latest news and upgrades for UFC Abu Dhabi and all of the promotion’s other occasions as new struggles continue to be declared almost everyday in what’s shaping up to be a very active 2019.
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