UFC to return to Australia at Rod Laver Arena

IN AN exclusive interview with news.com.au, the UFC has revealed details of a blockbuster card set to feature on Australian soil in November.

The last time the UFC came to Australia, Mark Hunt made short work of Frank Mir in Brisbane.

EXCLUSIVE

A YEAR since setting a new attendance record for a UFC event, the mixed martial arts promotion is returning Down Under.

Following the massive success at UFC 193, which saw more than 56,000 fans pack into Etihad Stadium for Ronda Rousey’s shock loss to Holly Holm, the UFC has announced it will return to Melbourne — this time at the home of Australian tennis.

UFC Executive Vice President and General Manager Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Tom Wright, said the UFC would host a Fight Night card at Rod Laver Arena on November 27.

“We are really excited to come back to Australia, and come back to Melbourne a year after breaking some records at UFC 193. It’s going to be our 10th event in Australia,” Wright said.

“We know we have great fans across the city and across the state, and to be able to take it to such an iconic venue as Rod Laver is pretty special.”

The second event to hit Australian shores this year, Brisbane fans were treated to a spectacular walk-off KO in the main event between Mark Hunt and Frank Mir in March.

However, Wright said the UFC was keen to return to Melbourne, Australia’s sporting capital.

“We had such a tremendous inaugural main event last November for UFC 193, and if you had to take a look at the records, and look at the great cities around the world, Melbourne clearly speaks as one of the sporting capitals of the world, and I think it is tough to argue with that,” he said.

UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker could feature on the card at Rod Laver Arena on November 27.

With a capacity of just over 14,000 spectators, the Rod Laver Arena card is expected to quickly sell out, no matter who headlines the event.

While it was not yet clear which fighters would feature, Wright said fans would see a mix of local and international and local talent, including the likes of middleweight Robert Whittaker — Australia’s highest-ranked UFC athlete.

“We don’t know who is going to headline it. Whether it is going to be a championship or not, it is too early to say,” Wright said.

“I suspect Robbie (Whittaker) will be on the card, but it is too early to know. We don’t have any of those details as of yet.

“There will be not only some great Australian fighters on the card, but some great international fighters as well.”

Whittaker has not fought since April, when he beat Brazilian middleweight Rafael Natal by unanimous decision at UFC 197 in Las Vegas. Whittaker broke his hand in the first round of the bout and has only recently returned to full training.

Melbourne lightweight Jake Matthews, who suffered just his second professional loss against American Kevin Lee in Las Vegas on July 8, is also a strong possibility for the card.

Fans will also be hopeful of an appearance by heavyweight knockout artist Mark Hunt, whose only loss on home soil came against current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in Adelaide in May last year.

Hunt has not been seen in the Octagon since his decision loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who later was informed of positive doping violations during both in- and out-of-competition testing.

Melbourne boy Jake Matthews will be pushing for the opportunity to fight in front of his home crowd.

Tickets for the event at Rod Laver Arena will go on sale to the public on Friday, September 23 via Ticketek, while a pre-sale will commence on Monday, September 19.

Ahead of the Conor McGregor v Nate Diaz rematch at UFC 202 on Sunday, Wright also offered up an interesting statistic to get fans ready for what promises to be a blockbuster card.

Predicting that neither the main event or co-main event (Anthony Johnson v Glover Teixeira) would end in decision.

“Collectively they have 85 wins, and 72 of them have been finishes,” Wright said.

“Eighty-five per cent of those guys’ wins have been finishes. All that says is those guys don’t let fights go to the judges, and you better be watching closely because there is a pretty good chance that both of those are going to be finishes.”