UFC
Saudi Arabia (not UFC!) announces new date for first UFC event in Riyadh
UFC Saudi Arabia. Photo via Instagram (@turkialalshik)
Wednesday, Saudia Arabia’s chairman of general authority for entertainment, Turki Alalshikh, announced that the UFC Saudi Arabia in Riyadh has been officially postponed until June 22.
“A decision to reschedule was taken to ensure the best caliber of talent will be available to participate,” Alalshikh wrote.
Riyadh Season announced hosting the first UFC Fight Night in cooperation with the leading international organization in the field of mixed martial arts (MMA) 😍🔥
It has been postponed to Saturday, June 22 🗓#BigTime#RiyadhSeason#برنامج_جودة_الحياة pic.twitter.com/kSR47XBEmz— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 24, 2024
Initially scheduled for March 2, the news of the postponement was first reported by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on January 15. According to Helwani, Saudi Arabia wanted a more high-profile card than UFC offered. However, UFC CEO Dana White denied the report from the journalist.
“I called and asked to push the card back. We had a couple of guys we wanted on the card and they weren’t ready. You know how we are. We wanted to deliver,” White said at the UFC 297 post-fight press conference. “We want to make it the best Fight Night we’ve ever done.”
Read more: Top ranked Swedish UFC fighter Pannie Kianzad returns to action in March
UFC Saudi Arabia card moved to Las Vegas
The March 2 event now takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with the same fights originally booked for the event. However, it’s safe to assume that some fighters could get Visa issues due to the short-time change.
Swedish strawweight sensation Josefine Knutsson will go her second UFC fight on the card as she’s facing UFC newcomer Julia Polastri.
- Flyweight bout: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez
- Middleweight bout: Eryk Anders vs. Jamie Pickett
- Lightweight bout: Ľudovít Klein vs. Joel Alvarez
- Bantamweight bout: Vinicius Oliveira vs Yanis Ghemmouri
- Heavyweight bout: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev
- Lightweight bout: Mohammad Yahya vs. Brendan Marotte
- Bantamweight bout: Javid Basharat vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Lightweight bout: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Loik Radzhabov
- Women’s Strawweight bout: Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Julia Polastri
- Light Heavyweight bout: Tyson Pedro vs. Vitor Petrino
Read more: Jack Hermansson reveals his best UFC moment: “I felt like I did the perfect fight”
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