Credit: MikeSloan/Sherdog.com
Credit: MikeSloan/Sherdog.com
The Ultimate Fighting Championship may have plans to move its
events beyond Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi in 2020.
UFC president Dana White indicated as much when talking about the
promotion’s plans for reigning strawweight queen Weili Zhang
in an interview with ESPN.
“We’re working on her, too,” White said. “Obviously, the fight
everybody wants to see is her and Rose [Namajunas]. Hopefully we
can get that done. If not, the next one in line would probably be
Carla
Esparza. We’re looking to do that fight this year – and in
Asia.”
Zhang last appeared at UFC 248, where retained her belt with a
split-decision over Joanna
Jedrzejczyk in a bout that was selected as Sherdog.com’s
“Fight of the Year” for 2020. She first claimed the 115-pound
title with a first-round stoppage of Jessica
Andrade in Shenzhen, China, in August 2019.
The UFC will have fans in a venue for the first time since Zhang
vs. Jedrzejczyk this month for its trio of events at Etihad Arena
in Abu Dhabi. Around 2,000 spectators are expected to be allowed
inside the 18,000-seat arena for UFC on ABC 1 on Jan. 16, UFC on
ESPN 20 on Jan. 20 and UFC 257 on Jan. 23. If White’s statement is
any indication, then the promotion could be moving toward holding
more events around the world, potentially with fans in
attendance.