A strategic agreement has been signed
between Riyadh Season and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC),
including the sponsorship of the UFC event in Las Vegas, the UFC
event in Riyadh, and Power Slap competitions 🇸🇦❤️
#RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/JFe6hVE4jO— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh)
May 7, 2024
The partnership between the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and Saudi Arabia will extend
beyond the promotion’s June debut in the country.
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On Tuesday, Turki Alalshikh, the country’s chairman of the board of
directors of the general entertainment authority, announced in a
press release that the UFC will hold another event in Saudi Arabia
in 2024-25. Additionally, Riyadh Season will serve as a sponsor for
UFC 306, which takes place at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.
Riyadh Season, which was founded in 2019, is a yearly state-funded
entertainment and sports festival and typically runs from October
through March.
“This agreement is a continuation of Riyadh Season’s aims to host
and partner with prominent and international events of mass
interest,” Alalshikh stated in a release. “It also enhances our
efforts for Riyadh Season to produce diverse content in order to
engage and attract an even wider audience with different interests
from around the world. UFC is the most prominent mixed martial arts
organization in the world and their platform of global fans is
unrivaled.”
The promotion will make its debut in Saudi Arabia with
UFC on ABC 6 on June 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. The card is
headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert
Whittaker and Khamzat
Chimaev, while Sergei
Pavlovich will square off against Alexander
Volkov in the co-main event.
A date for the next UFC Saudi Arabia event was not announced, but
it is expected to take place during the period when Riyadh Season
is held.