The UFC have been trying to venture into other profitable countries apart from the mainstream American and Brazilian markets. There had been plenty of rumours going on about the UFC coming to Russia for a pay-per-view in September. While some experts and pundits had rejected the rumours, they have now turned out to be true. The UFC have recently announced a PPV in Moscow, Russia for September, 2018.
It has long been rumoured that the UFC’s Russia event will be a homecoming for the UFC’s new cash-cow and lightweight champion, Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov has always been widely expected to headline any potential fight cards in Russia.
Their has been a popular belief that the UFC’s first Russian event will surely be headlined by the Dagestani. However, it is currently being reported that the event in Russia will not be a pay-per-view but instead a UFC Fight Night event.
The indomitable Dagestani is still undefeated in his MMA career with a record of 26-0. He is also currently on a nine fight winning streak inside the octagon. He is a black belt in Judo and is also a two time world Combat Sport champion and a highly phenomenal freestyle wrestler. His undefeated streak of twenty six wins, is currently one of the longest undefeated streaks in MMA.
He was considered by many to be the uncrowned champion at lightweight. However, the Russian finally had his coronation at UFC 223 by defeating Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision.
The Russian’s first title defense is currently tentative and he will likely fight only after the holy month of Ramadan. Thus, his training camps will probably only take place after June. The date of the Moscow event completely matches the UFC lightweight champion’s time-table. Though, noted MMA journalist Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting has confirmed that the event in Moscow is a Fight Night event and that Nurmagomedov is rather being saved for a later date.
UFC officially announced the event on their Twitter handle today. UFC Europe’s Twitter handle announced the event by releasing a poster for the event. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 9, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. The tweet also further revealed that the tickets for the event will be going up for sale by June 1.
The event is expected to be highly stacked as the UFC are hoping to make a strong positive impression in the minds of the Russian fans. Thus, UFC Moscow will surely be a hit PPV, but the nation’s biggest MMA star not being on the fight card might prove to be a bit of a stumbling block for the ticket sales.
You can read the UFC’s tweet below:
It's official!! #UFCMoscow is on for Sat 15 Sept. Get all the latest info ⬇️
🇷🇺 https://t.co/hkLnXXge8b pic.twitter.com/d2Twj69nbk
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 16, 2018
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