The concerning unknown as UFC 293 tickets go on sale seven weeks ahead of PPV blockbuster
We’re just seven weeks away from UFC 293 in Sydney, but one worrying issue will be keeping both the UFC and its fans up for a while as ticket sales begin.
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Tickets for UFC 293 in Sydney go on sale this week, but Aussie fight fans face the strange prospect of spending their hard-earned without knowing who will be headlining the pay-per-view blockbuster.
There almost certainly won’t be an Australian headliner in the UFC’s first trip to the harbour city since 2017, after injury and defeat ruled out some of the sport’s biggest names.
With seven weeks to go until fight night, New Zealand’s middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, looks like being one half of the main event.
It was widely assumed he would fight Robert Whittaker in a trilogy bout, but the Sydneysider suffered an upset second-round loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290 earlier this month.
Du Plessis looked set to replace Whittaker after his heated – and awkward – post-fight encounter with Adesanya in the cage following his win over ‘The Reaper’.
Those plans were thrown into disarray when Adesanya revealed on social media that du Plessis had declined the fight due to injury.
That would leave controversial American Sean Strickland in the box seat to face Adesanya.
Strickland fighting in the first of three UFC events New South Wales premier Chris Minns delivered to the state could be potentially be a PR disaster.
Just four weeks ago, Strickland delivered a racist, misogynistic tirade during a press conference in which he said “we need to put women back in the kitchen,” while hitting out at Nigerian-born Adesanya’s race.
The UFC is reportedly still holding out hope of convincing du Plessis to take the fight with Adesanya, but the company’s matchmakers still haven’t made a firm announcement.
“Dana (White), Sean (Shelby), Mick (Maynard) and Hunter (Campbell), they’ve gotta go through the right processes to get the right fight together,” UFC senior vice president Dave Shaw told this masthead on Tuesday.
“In this particular instance, at least from what I’ve heard, there’s a few different medical things to get through (with du Plessis). But they’re going to put the best fight on for the fans and for our brand and our live show. No doubt they’re working around the clock to make that happen.
“People know that whether you came to Perth, or were in Sydney the last time, or in Melbourne or Adelaide, the live experience, in person, there’s nothing like it.
“We need to make sure we bring a quality card. That’s what our fans deserve and there’s no doubt in my mind that’s what we’re going to deliver.”
Ironically, an Australian has never headlined a fight card in Sydney on the five previous occasions the UFC has visited.
Admittedly, the first four were early on when there simply weren’t any Aussies capable of headlining, with icons like Cain Velasquez, BJ Penn, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold all taking main event spots instead.
Most recently, Fabricio Werdum and Marcin Tybura topped a 2017 fight night card when Mark Hunt was pulled off at late notice.
Featherweight champion and pound-for-pound king Alex Volkanovski is also unavailable.
Volkanovski put on another masterful performance in knocking out Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, but had long overdue surgery on his elbows last week and won’t be ready in time.
Volkanovski and his wife, Emma, are also expecting the arrival of their third daughter in early September, making preparing for another fight difficult.
“ (Volkanovski) was pretty vocal about wanting to compete on this card,” Shaw said. “But he said it himself, he’s gotta have post-fight surgery.
“It would have been great, but the nice thing is, this isn’t the last time we’re going to be back in Australia.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re back here Q1 next year. Maybe by that point Volk’s ready.”
Despite the uncertainty and the lack of an Aussie at the top of the card, there’s plenty of local talent set to appear at Qudos Bank Arena on September 10.
The UFC officially confirmed heavyweight favourite Tai Tuivasa will fight veteran Alexander Volkov, while rapidly rising star Jack Jenkins will take on American Chepe Mariscal.
Tuivasa made his UFC debut in Sydney on the Werdum-Tybura card in 2017, and despite being on a two-fight losing skid, says he isn‘t finished yet.
“I‘ll be back, I’m from Western Sydney – I’m from the slums – I’ve been underestimated forever,” he said. ”Volkov has been around forever, he’s well respected.
“He‘s a stand-up fighter, I’m a stand-up fighter and I think it’s going to be a good battle for the crowd.
“It‘s going to be a good return.”
Elsewhere on the card, Tyson Pedro will look to bounce back from a frustrating defeat at UFC 284 in February when he fights Anton Turkalj.
Justin Tafa rematches Austen Lane after their first encounter ended in a 29-second no contest when the Aussie copped one of the worst eye pokes you’ll ever see.
The first female fight on the card was confirmed last week, with Casey O’Neill looking to bounce back from the first loss of her career when she fights Viviane Araujo.
Auckland-based fighters Kai Kara-France, Carlos Ulberg, Shane Young and Mike ‘Blood Diamond’ Mathetha are also on the card.
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