With the UFC set to visit London on Saturday night, what better time to announce three more events on the European continent?
The Scottish city of Glasgow will host the UFC at the SSE Arena on July 16 this year. Following on from this is an event on September 2 in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. The following month will see the promotion set up its tent in Gdansk, Poland at the Ergo Arena on October 21.
Middleweight champion of the world Michael Bisping defeated Thales Leites via decision in the UFC’s first event in Glasgow in 2015, while May 2016 saw the maiden trip to Rotterdam’s Ahoy arena. Europe is a key market for the franchise, according to a statement released by Joe Carr, senior vice president of UFC international and content:
“Europe remains an incredibly important market for our business and has been key to the international growth we’ve seen in recent years. It was only right that we committed to delivering these three events in the region in 2017.
“Our debut events in Glasgow and Rotterdam not only sold out, but were among the most successful that we held in 2015 and 2016 respectively, so the decision to return to those cities was an easy one for us. Returning to Poland made complete sense when you consider the fan following we have and level of talent our roster of athletes continues to showcase.
“We now have four European champions, and when you add to that the exponential growth in this market, it’s exciting to consider what the future of European MMA will look like.”
