Ben Fordham spreads massive UFC Australia rumour

UFC boss Dana White is travelling to Sydney and there is speculation Donald Trump’s confidante will make a big announcement.

Ben Fordham has spread the rumour the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) may be about to announce its next event ahead of UFC 312.

Sunday’s UFC blockbuster at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney is headlined by Dricus Du Plessis’ middleweight world title defence in a re-match with Sean Strickland.

According to Fordham, White is travelling to Australia for the event and may use the opportunity to announce the UFC’s next event in NSW.

UFC 312: Du Plessis v Strickland 2 | SUN 9 FEB | UFC middleweight king Dricus du Plessis is headed back Down Under to face Sean Strickland in a blockbuster UFC 312 headliner in Sydney. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.

A sell-out crowd of more than 18,000 fans packed into the Sydney Olympic Park venue in September, 2023, and the spectacle was the catalyst for a rare deal being struck between the NSW government and the UFC.

It was announced in October, Destination New South Wales had locked in a four-year, three-event agreement with the UFC.

According to reports, the deal was worth $16 million.

Ben Fordham and Dana White. Photo: Supplied.

The UFC still has an agreement to return to NSW two more times in coming years and an announcement about the next card would make sense.

Fordham said on 2GB White, one of US President Donald Trump’s closest confidante’s, may have already arrived in Sydney.

“The Premier (Chris Minns) is expected to hold a press conference some time this week in the lead up to the fight and Dana White is going to be standing next to him.

“Now, I don’t know the point of the press conference. It might just be to celebrate the arrangement or maybe they’re going to announce more fights in the future. So watch this space.”

Dana White, US President-elect Donald Trump, singer Kid Rock and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP.

The Octagon has been a smash hit in Australia in recent years with UFC 305, staged in Perth, also selling out.

White has turned the fight promotion into the biggest MMA production on Earth and his personal wealth has exploded to more than $750 million, according to Forbes.

He spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention, calling Trump’s re-election “critically important”.

He was also on stage during Trump’s inauguration.

According to reports last year, White and the Minns’ Government have also been discussing the possibility of extending the original $16 million deal.

The government said the original UFC 293 in Sydney generated more than $15 million for the local economy.

Aussie Jonathan Micallef will be making his UFC debut on Sunday in what is shaping up as a stacked Sydney card, with brother of featherweight champion Illia Topuria, Aleksandre, also in action against Perth’s own Cody Haddon.

Originally published as Ben Fordham spreads massive UFC Australia rumour