Riyadh Season is back, and the UFC is likewise set to return to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on February 1, 2025.
Promotion officials announced next year’s UFC Saudi Arabia card via social media on Saturday. The show will mark the second event from the UFC in the Middle Eastern nation, following UFC on ABC 6 this past June.
That card was headlined by Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov, with the latter filling in for Khamzat Chimaev, who was forced out of the event. February’s return date does not have any fights officially announced for it, though several bouts have been rumored and/or reported, including unconfirmed reports of Shara Bullet facing Michael “Venom” Page.
Ikram Aliskerov vs. André Muniz, Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues have also been reported for the card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority Turki Al-Sheikh has been a key player in bringing the UFC, and combat sports, to the Kingdom. Under his leadership, Riyadh Season, a series of cultural and sporting events, became the first entity to “sponsor” a UFC Pay-Per-View, with UFC 306 rebranded “Riyadh Season Noche UFC.”
Al-Sheikh has also vowed to “fix” boxing, which appears to be desperately in need of it after Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, a sham of an event that produced a tepid sparring match, became the biggest card of the year just yesterday.
At least 58-year old Tyson emerged unscathed.
Critics have cited the Saudi foray into boxing, MMA, golf and other sports as an attempt to “reshape” their image, or to put in another way, sportswashing. The Saudi regime has been accused of numerous atrocities and outright murder, as in the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed and dismembered inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018.
Either way, there’s money to be had, and the UFC, WWE, PFL and other sporting bodies have recently cashed in.
