Sydney to host three UFC events over next four years with UFC 293 set for September
The UFC has struck a major deal with the New South Wales government which will see Sydney host three pay-per-view events between 2023 and 2027.
The first event of the deal is set to take place in Sydney on September 10, 2023, which will be the first to take place in the state’s capital since 2017.
However, it will be the first PPV event to be staged in the harbour city in 12 years.
The success of UFC Perth in February saw almost three-quarters of the 15,000 attendance come from people outside of Western Australia.
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NSW Premier Chris Minns pounced on the opportunity to host events in Sydney and capitalise on the growing popularity of the sport in Australia.
🚨The Boss has made it official!🚨 pic.twitter.com/UF7LD8YHEg
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) May 17, 2023
The venue has not yet been decided, with Wide World of Sports reporting that Qudos Bank Arena and CommBank Stadium are both being considered.
No confirmed matchups have been made, however, Dana White gave indications last month that the winner of Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis would face Israel Adesanya in Sydney.
That clash is set to take place on International Fight Week at UFC 290 on July 9.
Unfortunately for fight fans, scheduling issues will likely mean they won’t see Wollongong man Alexander Volkanovski in action.
The featherweight champion is also in action at UFC 290, defending his belt against Yair Rodriguez.
However, he is then chasing a rematch with UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev following there UFC 284 main event in Perth.
That fight is more likely to take place at Abu Dhabi in October as the first one had already taken place Down Under.
Of course, Whittaker could lose to Du Plessis which would mean we’d get Adesanya defending his belt against the South African.
The two have been at each other in recent months after the middleweight contender claimed that no UFC champions came from Africa.
The Last Stylebender took issue with this and things have certainly have gotten heated online.
If Whittaker wins it will be the third time he and Adesanaya have faced off with the Nigerian-born fighter winning the first two occasions.
Either way, it’s fantastic news for both Sydney and Australian fight fans.
Topics: UFC, MMA, Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, Dana White
Jayden Collins