The Cities the UFC Should Visit in 2020

The Cities the UFC Should Visit in 2020

By Jack Maher

Now that UFC Copenhagen has been and gone, it means there is only one more UFC event in Europe scheduled for this year, with UFC Moscow, which will be headlined Junior Dos Santos vs Alexander Volkov, booked for November 9th.

The UFC have put on some pretty impressive shows in Europe this year, and have even broken new ground, heading to the Czech Republic and Denmark for the first time, and I believe that they should continue to visit new cities and countries as well as revisit European cities they haven’t been to in years.

The company has a wealth of European talent on its books, and it makes absolute sense to allow these fighters to compete closer to home, helping them establish bigger fan bases as well as helping the company itself grow in Europe.

There are plenty of beautiful cities in Europe which I feel like are overdue a visit from the UFC, so here are five cities I believe the UFC should visit in 2020.

Disclaimer: This list does not feature London, as an event in the O2 arena in London in the first quarter of the year has become a set part of the UFC’s schedule over the past few years, and there is no reason for that to change. This article is about five cities I believe the UFC should visit in 2020 as well as their regular annual trip to London.

Brussels

This may seem like a slightly peculiar first choice, but the UFC have previously hosted events in neighbouring Germany and Holland, so an event in Belgium feels like the next logical step.

Cage Warriors have shown that events in Belgium can be a success, with Cage Warriors 89 in 2017 and Cage Warriors 94 in 2018 both taking place in the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, seemingly attracting good crowds.

The Paleis 12 Arena in Brussels, which has a maximum capacity of 18,000 people, as well as the Forrest National indoor arena which has a capacity of just over 8000 could both provide suitable venues. The UFC only has one Belgian fighter to my knowledge, in the form of Tarec Saffiedine, who hasn’t fought since losing a decision to Rafeal Dos Anjos in 2017, but a comeback fight in his home country may be what the former Strikeforce welterweight champion needs to get himself back on track.

The UFC could also look at bringing back Cindy Dandois, one of Europe’s best female MMA fighters, who has competed at bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight. Dandois made her one and only UFC appearance in 2017, losing a decision to Alexis Davis at 135lbs, but she remains a quality fighter, and would be a useful asset to sell tickets in her home country.

The event could also feature fighters from the likes of Germany, France, Switzerland and The Netherlands on the card, with fighters like Volkan Oezdemir, Stefan Struve, and Nasrat Haqparast all seeming like natural fits.

Rome

It’s almost hard to believe that the octagon has never touched down in one of Europe’s most famous cities, but that is the reality in 2019, and will hopefully no longer be the case by the end of 2020. A beautiful city with a lot of history, back in the day duels would be contested by gladiators in the Colosseum, watched by the ancient Romans, and it would be fitting for Dana White to bring his modern day gladiators back to the capital of Italy next year.

While we won’t see a UFC event in the historic Colosseum, there are suitable venues in the city, such as the Centrale Live Roma, an 8000 capacity venue Bellator have used in the past. There are currently no headline-worthy Italians in the UFC as of yet, but middleweights Marvin Vettori and Alessio Di Chirico would both fit in on the card, potentially against each other in an all-Italian clash.

The rest of the card could be filled out with other top fighters, in order to assure an entertaining show which will hopefully grow the popularity of the sport in Italy. Modern combat sports are getting more popular in Italy, with Bellator hosting many events in the country over the past few years, as well as Matchroom boxing, who have hosted multiple events in Italy over the past 14 months.

It would make financial sense for the UFC to build on the work Bellator have done to help grow MMA in Italy, and finally establish themselves in the country to avoid potentially giving up a potentially lucrative market to their competitors.

Glasgow

This wouldn’t be the UFC’s first trip to Glasgow, but it would be an overdue one, as in 2020 it will be three years since they last visited Scotland. The Scots are some of the most passionate fans in sports and it would be a mistake not to capitalize on that, especially considering Scotland could soon possibly have its first UFC champion, in the form of Joanne Calderwood.

Imagine Calderwood vs Valentina Shevchenko for the women’s flyweight championship at the top of the bill of a UFC event in Glasgow; a tough, popular underdog who’d have the backing of her home country vs one of the most dominant fighters in the sport today, it’s almost a can’t miss opportunity, especially when you consider the event is practically guaranteed to sell out the SSE Hydro arena in Glasgow, which has a maximum capacity of just over 14,000.

Scottish light heavyweight contender Paul Craig would be a natural fit on the card, as would both Danny Henry and Stevie Ray. Regardless of what fights get booked for the event, you can expect to see one of the best atmospheres of the year if the UFC does indeed choose to return to Glasgow in 2020, and nights like that can only be good for the sport.

Cardiff

I toyed with the idea of suggesting Birmingham instead of Cardiff, finally giving Leon Edwards the homecoming he’s been craving, but ultimately it didn’t seem fair to give Birmingham their second UFC event (The first being UFC 138 in 2011) before Wales have had their first.

It appears Wales is slowly becoming a hotbed for MMA talent, and the UFC have taken notice, signing Jack Marshman, Brett John’s and John Phillips in recent years. They have also recently brought in undefeated Welsh bantamweight Jack Shore, who I believe has the potential to make it to the very top.

Shore is no stranger to being a big part of MMA events in Wales, headlining in Cardiff on three separate occasions for Cage Warriors, and while the UFC would likely want a headliner that would appeal to a wider international audience, there’s no reason why Shore, and the other Welsh fighters I mentioned earlier for that matter, being involved in big fights on the card.

The Motorpoint arena in Cardiff is probably the most suitable venue, with a maximum capacity of 7,500. It’s strange to think there’s never been a UFC event in Wales, and my assumption is they’ve been waiting to have some good Welsh fighters available for the card in order to make the trip worth while, and if that’s the case then there’s no reason why the UFC can’t make an appearance in Cardiff in 2020.

Paris

At the time of writing MMA is currently banned in France, but that may be about to change. The French minister of sports Roxana Maracineanu has plans to overturn that ban, and according to ESPN that change could be made as early as January 1st 2020.

Fighters from Francis Ngannou to the now retired Tom Duquesnoy have spoken out against France’s ban on MMA, so it’s good to see that may be coming to an end soon. Given the fuss that was made over this ban being placed, it would only make sense to host an event in the country now the ban is seemingly coming to an end, and if the UFC is headed to France, then Paris is the most obvious destination.

Like Rome, Paris is one of the most famous cities on the planet, buzzing with life and tourism, it’s also home to the AccorHotels Arena, which has a maximum capacity of 20,000. If the UFC wanted to go really big for a Paris fight night, they should bring over Ngannou, who emigrated to Paris at the age of 26. Having Ngannou on the card would peak local interest and likely provide a very entertaining main event.

Another Frenchman making waves in the heavyweight division is Cyril Gane, who made his UFC debut earlier this year improving to 4-0. Gane, along with Ngannou would be brilliant fits for the event, and would help build up local interest for what would be the first ever UFC event in the country.