UFC To Hold Yearly Cards In Australia Between 2023, 2027

UFC president Dana White dismissed suggestions that they staged incidents to build hype. In this picture, White speaks to the media during the UFC 229 Press Conference at Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 20, 2018, in New York City.
Steven Ryan/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

The UFC is heading to Australia once per year between 2023 and 2027
New South Wales premier Chris Minns believes the deal will increase tourism for Australia
The country has seen a handful of marquee matchups through the years

The UFC’s push to reach an even bigger market outside of the United States has seen the company visit countries like the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany to name a few.

But for the next few years, mixed martial arts fans in Australia can take solace in the fact that the UFC will be visiting their shores once a year–at least in the New South Wales (NSW) area.

The promotion has reached a four-year agreement with the NSW government to hold events in the “Harbour City” until 2027, with the first event of that new deal taking place later this year with UFC 293 in Sydney.

UFC president Dana White credited their determination to get a deal is due to the love shown to them by the fans and their history of supporting the UFC.

“Australians are some of the most passionate fight fans in the world and we know these Sydney events are going to be massive. Sydney was the first Australian city to host a UFC pay-per-view, and we are going to bring incredible events every time we come back over the next four years,” White said of the landmark deal.

The event that White was referring to was UFC 110, which happened in February 2010 where then-rising heavyweight star Cain Velasquez knocked out Antonio Nogueira in the first round to set up his title fight with division kingpin Brock Lesnar in October of that year.

NSW premier Chris Minns noted that the deal “is a big win for UFC fans and the state’s economy” since it will promote international tourism in both the area and in Australia as a whole because of the spectacle that the UFC brings.

Australia has played host to a total of 16 UFC fight cards in the past where fights such as Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall (UFC on FX 2 in March 2012), Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey (UFC 193 in November 2015), and the all-out war between Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (UFC Fight Night 33 in December 2013).

Outside of sentimental reasons, the UFC deciding to work out a deal with the NSW government also makes sense from a business standpoint since the outfit has a ton of Aussie fighters on the roster such as current featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, former middleweight champ Robert Whitaker, and Tai Tuvasa, to name a few.

UFC 293 is set to take place on September 10, and the full fight card is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.