Today the Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed that it will return to the city of Belfast on Saturday November 19, 2016.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT® BELFAST will take place at The SSE Arena, which played host to the organisation’s first and only visit to Belfast back in June 2007. UFC® 72 was just the third European event to be hosted by UFC and was headlined by a middleweight match up between former champion Rich Franklin and top contender Yushin Okami. Now, some nine years later, UFC will return to Northern Ireland’s captial city, with what is set to be an unforgettable night of mixed martial arts action.
The announcement comes as fan following for the sport of MMA in Ireland reaches an all time high, driven largely by the success of UFC featherweight world champion, Conor McGregor, and the emergence of upcoming stars including Donegal’s Joe Duffy and Dublin’s Aisling Daly. And as the popuarity of the sport in Ireland grows, so too does the demand from fans for live events.
James Elliott, General Manager and Vice President of UFC EMEA, said “It goes without saying that Ireland is a key market for us, and the popularity of MMA amongst Irish fans continues to grow exponentially year on year. “Irish MMA fans are among the most passionate that we’ve seen anywhere in the world, and they have long been asking for the UFC to return.” UFC hosted sell out events in Dublin in both 2014 and 2015, with thousands of fans securing their tickets to the events within a matter of minutes. “This year, we wanted to bring the action to Northern Ireland, and we expect the same overwhelming response when tickets go on sale,” continued Elliott. “We look forward to delivering an unforgettable event for the city of Belfast, one which will be remembered for years to come.”
Tickets to UFC FIGHT NIGHT® BELFAST will go on general sale on Friday, September 23 via Ticketmaster. Tickets will also be available at The SSE Arena box office.
To register interest for the event visit www.ufc.com/belfast
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