UFC recently announced their schedule for first quarter of 2023
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has set its sights on several countries that have a high potential for expansion. One of these countries is France, which legalized mixed martial arts in 2018 as a direct result of lobbying efforts by the UFC. The UFC believes that Mexico, China, and several countries in Africa are all ready for further investment, either in the form of holding live events or building performance institutes in order to identify and develop talent.
According to the chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein, the Ultimate Fighting Championship considers the economic viability of a location, the TV ratings for UFC events, social media analytics, and the culture of martial arts when analyzing locations for development. After these components have been established, the UFC will begin to promote local fighters who have the kind of star power that is necessary to sell tickets to live events.
With only two more events scheduled for this calendar year, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is already looking ahead to 2023. The promotion made the announcement of its first-quarter schedule in the form of a video highlight package on Thursday, during the pre-fight news conference for UFC 282.
The list provided evidence for the majority of the rumors that had been floating around, but it also disclosed information about a few venues and locations that had not been made public before. There was also a card that had been reported previously but was conspicuously absent from the set.
Check out the list below: [Via/ MMA Junkie]
- UFC Fight Night, UFC Apex – Las Vegas, Jan. 14
- UFC 283, Jeunesse Arena – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 21
- UFC 284, RAC Arena – Perth, Australia, Feb. 11
- UFC Fight Night, UFC Apex – Las Vegas, Feb. 18
- UFC Fight Night, UFC Apex – Las Vegas, Feb. 25
- UFC 285, T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, March 4
- UFC Fight Night, The Theater at Virgin Hotels, March 11
- UFC 286, O2 Arena – London, March 18
- UFC Fight Night, AT&T Center – San Antonio, Texas, March 25
- UFC Fight Night, Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 4
Using analytics, the promotion decided to hold UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia in 2010, and tickets sold out in record time. Until the pandemic, the UFC came back to Australia annually. UFC 243 in Melbourne, which featured middleweight champion Robert Whittaker defending his title against Israel Adesanya, drew a record-breaking live crowd of over 57,000, thanks in large part to the presence of local stars like Mark Hunt, Robert Whittaker, and Israel Adesanya.
Besides that, Russia, Africa and a huge untapped market in Asia are all in the UFC’s plan as the global leader in MMA is expanding constantly.
UFC’s President Dana White’s new venture – Power Slap League
Power Slap, a new combat sport led by UFC President Dana White, is based on competitive open-handed striking and will be governed by the same rules and regulations as the MMA. Power Slap is an upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) event created by Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, and Craig Piligian in association with Ultimate Fighting Championship and Endeavor and produced by Pilgrim Media Group.
Beginning in early 2023, TBS will air an eight-part series devoted to the new sport of Power Slap, in which competitors will strive for a place in the cast house, high placement in the initial Power Slap rankings, participation in subsequent Power Slap matches, and ultimately, global notoriety.
“I’m very excited for the launch of Power Slap,” said Dana White. “I’ve been working on this since 2017. I saw some footage of slap fighting on social media and I was instantly hooked. From the first day I saw it, I felt like this could be big. I knew what needed to be done to make it a real sport just like we did with MMA. We got it sactioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) with defined rules, rankings and weight classes. Power Slap is built for the modern sports fan.”
About Power Slap League [Via UFC website] – Power Slap is the world’s premier competitive slapping promotion, regulated and sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Power Slap was created in 2022 by Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Craig Piligian, in partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship and Endeavor, and produced by Pilgrim Media Group.
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