The world’s top UFC, mixed martial arts organisation and the Department of Culture and Tourism – UAE have expanded their collaboration, and as a result, the emirate will now host championship fights and other events every year.
Additional Fight Night events will be added to the new relationship and held throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
With 18 events conducted in the region since 2010, the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship, a division of the publicly traded TKO Group Holdings, has a long-standing association with Abu Dhabi.
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Some of the biggest names in combat sports have participated in the UAE capital since the two parties formalised their collaboration in 2019. In Abu Dhabi, former two-weight world champion Conor McGregor, former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya all successfully defended their titles.
Nine title fights have taken place throughout the course of the original contract, showcasing top-tier international talent, thrilling audiences around the globe, and advancing MMA in the MENA region.
Since 2010, UFC events have attracted tens of thousands of combat fans to Abu Dhabi and exposed the organisation and the emirate to a global TV audience of more than 900 million homes in more than 170 nations.
As Abu Dhabi hosted three different series of Fight Island events during the COVID-19 epidemic, that cooperation was strengthened. Yas Island in Abu Dhabi underwent a transformation to establish a safe and secure venue for international athletes to participate at a time when sport around the world was ceasing to exist.
The announcement precedes Saturday, October 21,’s sold-out UFC 294 event at the Etihad Arena on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, which will pit lightweight title Islam Makhachev against Alexander Volkanovski. At UFC 280, Makhachev won the lightweight title by stopping Charles Oliveira in the second round in front of a capacity audience.
Khamzat Chimaev, a fan favourite and native of the United Arab Emirates, will fight former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the co-main event, giving him his hardest test to date.
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