DUBAI: Since its inception in 1993, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, has been the undisputed leader in the world of mixed martial arts. Led by its tireless CEO and face of the company, Dana White, the promotion has taken the sport to heights that others can only dream of.
It has made fighters like Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and Islam Makhachev household names — a feat traditionally reserved for boxers. Although most of its cards are held in its US home, the UFC regularly sells out arenas worldwide when it takes the show on the road. It is a juggernaut.
It has found a second home in the UAE. What started as a one-off event in Abu Dhabi back in 2010 has turned into a mutually beneficial relationship. The bond between Abu Dhabi Tourism and the UFC grew stronger during the COVID-19 lockdown as Yas Island was turned into Fight Island, which allowed bouts to be beamed into homes around the planet. The recent contract renewal that runs to 2028 adds an extra annual event to the Abu Dhabi calendar and provides another significant foothold for the UFC in the Middle East.
But for the first time in its 30-year existence, the UFC has been presented with a puzzle it has yet to solve, which is that Saudi Arabia has quickly become the fight capital of the world.
The speed at which this happened has caught many combat sports fans and organizations off-guard. Having dabbled in boxing bouts back in 2018, with George Groves and Callum Smith duking it out in Jeddah and a stint hosting influencer boxing events such as Jake Paul versus Tommy Fury, the Kingdom is now the home to some of the biggest fights around. Heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder have all showcased their pugilism in Saudi Arabia.
Over the last 12 months, the architect of these showstopping bouts, Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, has been calling the shots. He only wants the best — “real fighters, not YouTubers” — and his decision-making has not only seen the Kingdom become the premier spot for combat sports but has breathed new life into heavyweight boxing, which has diminished as a spectacle over the last two decades.
Alalshikh has fixed his gaze on MMA and is determined, once again, to deliver the very best of the sport in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom-backed Professional Fighters League pulled out all the stops to put on a “Champions vs Champions” card on Feb. 24, between its own stable of stars and those of its recently purchased Bellator franchise. It was an unprecedented event that fit Alalshikh’s call for the best of the best. Although PFL/Bellator does not have the same level of star power as the UFC, yet, they put them all on one card, which was a savvy move.
For the UFC’s first foray into Saudi Arabia, serving up a stellar card should have been easy. But the UFC missed the mark for the first time in recent memory. The card was earmarked for March 2 but has been pushed to June 22. Rumors suggest that the proposed card lacked stars and was rejected by the powers that be. Dana White quickly dismissed this accusation as a lie and mischief-making. However, despite the protests, the UFC was left unusually vulnerable. It also allowed the PFL’s President Donn Davis to throw a few jabs at the rival promotion.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the UFC March 2nd card was cancelled the day before our fight (announcement),” Davis told The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani at the time. “That is not a mega-event. That is not worthy of being hosted in Saudi Arabia.”
Mudslinging aside, Davis would know the criteria Alalshikh demands being met of any sporting roadshow coming to Saudi Arabia. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle. What further bloodies the nose of the UFC in this situation is that not only is the allure of world-class combat sports enough to put the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and more ring- or cage-side, but its own superstars too.
Current UFC heavyweight champion Jones was at the PFL versus Bellator showdown recently, and McGregor was at the Tyson Fury versus Francis Ngannou bout. McGregor, who was interviewed ringside, was furious with the UFC for not getting him a fight, and praised Saudi Arabia’s contribution to the world of combat sports. There is no chance that these two things went unnoticed at UFC headquarters.
As it stands, the UFC Saudi Arabia card is set for June 22. It is still a “Fight Night” (read: no title fight), and, at the time of writing, there is no indication of who might be on it.
There is no doubt that the promotion is keen to blow the doors off with its debut in the Kingdom. However, the UFC will need to think creatively if the card does not have a title match, especially as it regularly hosts them in the UAE. The newly crowned “Fight Capital of the World” will only gain more prominence as it becomes the de facto location for superstar events. The pressure is on the UFC to live up to its championship status.
