The UFC’s debut event in Saudi Arabia will be delayed.
Originally scheduled for March 2 in Riyadh, the UFC Fight Night event will now take place at a later date – possibly in June, according to a report Monday from Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour.”
According to Helwani, Saudi Arabia was seeking a deeper and more high-profile card than was being offered by the UFC on March 2. Saudi Arabia paid a $20 million site fee for the event, TKO chief operating officer Mark Shapiro previously revealed.
The UFC has yet to announce any changes to the event. Neither fighters nor their teams had been notified of any potential changes as of Monday afternoon, three people with direct involvement told MMA Junkie.
At the time of publication, it’s unclear if the fights scheduled for March 2 will still take place at a different location, or if the bouts will be rescheduled for new dates.
Had the UFC event taken place March 2, it would’ve been the second of three major events in as many weeks in Saudi Arabia. A Bellator vs. PFL pay-per-view is currently in the works for Feb. 24, while the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou boxing event is scheduled for March 8.
Prior to postponement, UFC Saudi Arabia lineup included:
- Mohammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev
- Eryk Anders vs. Jamie Pickett
- Joel Alvarez vs. Ludovit Klein
- Javid Basharat vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Vinicius Oliveira
- Brendon Marotte vs. Mohammad Yahya
- Abdul-Kerim Al-Selwady vs. Loik Radzhabov
