UFC Announces Five-Year Partnership With Abu Dhabi For Events

The UFC is returning to Abu Dhabi this summer, and the following four years as well.

The promotion announced a partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi starting with the September 7 UFC 242 event to be held in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital.

Multiple reports have indicated that is the target date for lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim titleholder Dustin Poirier to meet, but nothing has been finalized to date.

In a release posted on the UFC’s website, UFC will be a part of Abu Dhabi’s continually growing mega events calendar, with new festivals, sporting events and other initiatives being drawn to the emirate in part by the attractive benefits offered by the Advantage Abu Dhabi programme. Advantage Abu Dhabi provides a unique opportunity for event organisers, increasing the overall value proposition of the destination by providing an array of support services throughout the event planning cycle. The partnership with UFC is the latest to demonstrate the power of the programme in creating new business opportunities in Abu Dhabi.

“We are making a long-term commitment to Abu Dhabi because we have had great success in that market,” said UFC President Dana White. “The demand from our fans to bring UFC back to Abu Dhabi has been overwhelming, and over the next five years, DCT Abu Dhabi will help us deliver some spectacular UFC championship fights to the UAE. I’m very excited about this partnership and what it will mean for the growth of this sport and for UFC in the region.”

The UFC has promoted events in Abu Dhabi before in both 2010 and 2014.

“Abu Dhabi is now firmly established as a unique tourism destination which offers a diverse mix of activities and initiatives that cater to all kinds of audience and visitors,” said HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman, DCT Abu Dhabi. “The emirate also has a strong affiliation with world-class sporting events, such as the FIFA World Club Cup, the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Red Bull Air Race, and now this deal to bring UFC here allows us to once again show our ability to stage major events that thrill visitors and residents alike. UFC will become a key component of Abu Dhabi’s thriving events calendar for the next five years, which is already packed full of not only great sporting events, but also cultural, arts and entertainment offerings as well. This spectacular mixed martial arts event, which has a huge following around the world, will bring heightened impetus to visitation in the third quarter for the emirate and will no doubt boost incoming tourist numbers as fight fans across the world gather in Abu Dhabi.”