The UFC recently announced that their return to the O2 Arena in London is scheduled for March 22nd and they have started announcing some blockbuster fights for the event.
London's O2 Arena has become one of the UFC's premier venues for international events and next March it will play host to the promotion's 30th event on British soil.
The last time the UFC held an event in London was July 2023 when Tom Aspinall headlined Marcin Tybura in his first fight back from his devastating knee injury.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ian Machado Garry refuses to fight Leon Edwards at UFC London
Former welterweight champion Leon Edwards recently announced he will headline the event in London, marking his third time in the O2's main event.
'Rocky' was due to make his first appearance in the capital against Tyron Woodley in 2020, but the event was canceled following the COVID-19 pandemic.
He then defended his 170-pound title for the first time in a trilogy fight against Kamaru Usman in 2023, winning via decision.
Ahead of his return to the Octagon following his title loss to Belal Muhammad last July, fans are starting to wonder who he will fight in the main event.
The 33-year-old was previously linked with a fight against Ian Machado Garry following their brief feud after Garry was kicked out of his Birmingham gym.
After the Irishman's recent loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, a fight against Edwards in March seemed even more logical, but 'The Future' declined.
“I have no interest in fighting in London. I have said from day one that if the UFC wants me to fight in Europe, they will take me back to Dublin, Ireland. I don't fight anywhere else than that,” the Irishman said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
The UFC is starting to announce fights for UFC London
As of now, it is unclear who Edwards will headline the event against, with fans calling for a match against Jack Della Maddalena.
However, the promotion has started announcing fights for the March 22 offering, and some fan favorites are scheduled to return to The Big Smoke.
Last Tuesday, the UFC announced that a big light heavyweight fight between Jan Blachowicz and Carlos Ulberg would take place at UFC London, with Ulberg getting the chance to put himself in title contention.
Along with that announcement, they announced that British heavyweight and training partner of Tom Aspinall, Mick Parkin, will face the aforementioned Tybura in a heavyweight match, giving the Pole a chance at redemption over Team Aspinall.
They then followed up Tuesday's announcements with more announcements earlier this Wednesday, pitting Christian Leeroy Duncan against promotional newcomer, Andrey Pulyaev.
Molly McCann is also scheduled to make her fifth appearance at the O2 arena as she looks to return to victory against 0-4, Istela Nunes.
Rounding out the promotional fix of announcements are bouts between Oumar Sy and Alonso Menifield and a strawweight bout between Shauna Bannon and Puja Tomar.
Related posts
Comments