IT’S TIIIIIIIME, fight fans.
With the Victorian State Government lifting the puzzling ban on cage fighting earlier this year, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been circling Melbourne for a major event like Ronda Rousey circling a damaged arm.
It’s long been known that UFC 193 would likely take place in the Victorian capital this coming November. And this morning the global MMA juggernaut officially lifted the lid on the historic event.
Set to take place on Sunday, November 15th at the giant Etihad Stadium, UFC 193 will be headlined by a Welterweight Championship slugfest between current champion Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit.
Lawler, entering the bout with a 29-10-1 record, has held the UFC Welterweight strap since December of last year, after taking it from rival Johny Hendricks at UFC 181. Conversely, Condit – 30-8-0 – comes in as the interim Welterweight Champion, a gong he earned back in 2012 at UFC 143.
The event’s undercard – which will be broadcast globally in part on Fox Sports, with the main event matches on pay-per-view – features a stacked bill full of local MMA fighters, including a co-main event heavyweight slugfest featuring Mark Hunt against Brazilian giant Antonio “Big Foot” Silva, as well as a bout between Sydney’s Robert Whittaker and England’s Michael Bisping.
The event will be the second time in the company’s history to take place in a large stadium, with the company (perhaps somewhat ambitiously given the ground’s capacity) championing a potential crowd of 70,000. This is also the first time a major card has been held in Melbourne, and the first a major UFC card has been held in Australia since UFC 127 in Sydney, held in 2011. Smaller UFC Fight Night and UFC on FX events have been held in the country in the interim.
UFC owner Dana White released a statement on the superfight through the UFC website, which read in part:
“There’s been a lot of talk about Melbourne, title fights and stadium shows. The UFC is doing all three at the Etihad Stadium in front of 70,000 people. Australia has been an amazing market for the UFC and to thank the Aussies for all of their support we are bringing the superstar of the welterweight division, UFC World Champion Robbie Lawler.”“He will be facing the always-exciting “Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit. Robbie Lawler is coming off of the most exciting title defense in welterweight history.”“We are also bringing the rematch of the greatest heavyweight fight I have ever seen between New Zealand legend Mark Hunt vs. Big Foot Silva. November 15 is going to be insane!”
Ticket presales for UFC Fight Club members will go online on September 14th, with microsite registrants and newsletter subscribers able to get at them from September 16th.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, September 21st.
Full details for the event – including the extended card – are available at the UFC Melbourne Microsite.
Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.
