Potential UFC supercard in Melbourne hinges on Saturday’s Victorian state election

ANDERSON Silva, Jon Jones and Chris Weidman could appear on a double-title fight card in Melbourne. But there’s a catch.

Australian UFC supercard ... on one condition

JON Jones, Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman, Johny Hendricks and Cain Velasquez.

They are the pound-for-pound best MMA fighters in the world.

And the UFC has promised to bring the best of the best to a sold-out Etihad Stadium in Melbourne in November, should a controversial ban on cage fighting be overturned in Saturday’s Victorian election.

UFC director of operations Tom Wright today confirmed that the stars of the sport would happily tour Down Under to be part of a historic card.

And Wright was adamant it was not drawing a long bow to suggest the likes of Jon Jones and Anderson Silva would fight for titles before 70,000 at Etihad Stadium.

“Knowing our fighters, they would go anywhere in the world to fight for a championship,” Wright said.

“It’s a world-class city, world-class fans, and world-class facilities. Our fighters love coming to your country and there’s a lot of reasons why our athletes will be lining up to be on this card.

“And we demonstrated this in Sydney earlier this month. Chris Weidman is our middleweight champion and he was a guest on the card and he had a wonderful time.

“Every fighter on the card had a terrific time in Sydney and there’s no reason why we wouldn’t feel the exact same for Melbourne.”

But the UFC’s grand plans could all be quashed if Labor fails to regain power.

Shadow Sports Minister John Eren has vowed to lift the ban on the octagon if he wins Saturday’s election.

“I am anxiously awaiting the result,” Wright said.

“As you could appreciate, I don’t have an opportunity to mark a ballot but I, our athletes and our sport are inextricably linked to this election and we’re anxiously and eagerly watching from the other side of the world.”

The UFC has forecast a potential double championship card in Melbourne, similar to the upcoming UFC 181 where Johny Hendricks will fight Robbie Lawler for the welterweight title and Anthony Pettis will defend his lightweight crown against Gilbert Melendez.

“We have two championships on one card and we’ve had three double championships in Toronto, so it’s a possibility and it wouldn’t surprise me,” Wright said.

He has guaranteed the event will be splashed globally via pay-per-view for the first time since 2011 in Sydney.

“If we were to have a pay-per-view, we would have a championship bout on it,” Wright said.

“But as to whom it would be, we’re not sure. We don’t even know who is headlining pay-per-view in March or April let alone November.”

Australian fan-favourite Mark Hunt is also in the UFC’s sights.

“If Mark Hunt’s a chance to fight for the heavyweight championship, I think that would be a remarkable event,” Wright said.

“Everyone loves to watch the heavyweights and when you have a fighter with such a strong following as he does in Australia, I think that would be a fight that everyone would be excited to see.”

But Victoria will soon decide the UFC’s fate.

And while it would seem a lost cause if the Napthine Government regains control, the UFC will resort to plan B.

“I’ve said this all along, I feel very strongly that it’s a matter of when, not if,” Wright said.

“And if for some reason we’re faced with the situation that the current government gets returned then we’ll continue to push forward because in the end it’s all about the health and safety and it’s all about fairness and we’re not going to stop until such time when those opportunities for our athletes are present.”

Having spent months in conversations with former and current Victorian Sports Minister Hugh Delahunty and Damian Drum, Wright said the UFC was prepared to take the fight to Federal level.

“I’ve spoken with Louise Asher in her position as the major event minister and I will continue to have those conversations and quite candidly we might also start conversations in Canberra,” Wright said.

“I think the time has come to look at how the sport can be overseen on a Federal level.

“I know your current Premier Denis Napthine has a very rigid and set in stone position — we argue with it because we don’t think there’s any fact to it and it’s pretty subjective — but in the end he’s the Premier and I understand and respect that but the one thing about governments is they come and go and we’re going to be around in five, 10, 15, 20 years and it’s a matter of when, not if.”

Should the UFC get its wish, Eren will be sworn in as Sports Minister and a letter will be written to the Combat Sports Commission to approve the cage.

With Etihad Stadium already locked in, plans to build the card for November will begin.

But Wright knows the UFC has a “long way to go” to win over the critics.

“It’s an ongoing process wherever we go in the world. I’ve been with the UFC for almost five years and I spent a lot my time on the education front trying to inform perspective and dispel myths of our sport and I spent less time today than I did a year ago but it’s one of those ongoing processes and part of building a new sport and a new brand.

“And I suspect I will have to continue to have these conversations in Victoria and WA, so we still have heavy lifting to do but when I started we only had events in one province in Canada and one in Quebec and now we’ve held 17 events and been in six provinces and seven difference cities.

“These things take time and one thing we do have is patience and a commitment to do things right.”