The UFC has announced their return to Abu Dhabi, for a Fight Night event scheduled for July 26, 2025.
Promotion officials announced the event on Thursday. No fights have been officially announced for the card, which will take place once again at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
The UFC made two visited to Abu Dhabi in 2024: UFC 308 was the scene of Ilia Topuria‘s defeat of former featherweight champ Max Holloway, while a Fight Night card saw Umar Nurmagomedov defeat Cory Sandhagen.
All told, the UFC has visited Abu Dhabi 20 times, starting with UFC 112 in 2010. The bulk of those events, however, came during the COVID era, including a four-event stint in July of 2020 on what the promotion branded “Fight Island” – a quarantined Yas Island.
Five more events on Fight Island followed in September and October of 2020. The combination of the UFC Apex and the Abu Dhabi cards allowed the UFC to continue producing live events, albeit without fans, when other sports were forced to sit and weather the storm – helping boost the promotion’s popularity with sports fans who had little in the way of alternatives.
The return of live spectators has resulted in fewer trips to Abu Dhabi annually, but the UAE capital has remained a key destination for the promotion.
