UFC 286 announced for March 18 at the O2 Arena

The UFC today officially announced that UFC 286 would be heading to London’s O2 Arena, likely headlined by Leon Edwards’ first defence of his Welterweight Championship against the man he beat in August, Kamaru Usman.

This comes after months of speculation surrounding a 2023 PPV event in the UK, with venues such as Wembley Stadium and Cardiff’s Principality Stadium being mentioned, the latter seeming more likely because of its roof and the recent success of WWE’s Clash at the Castle PPV event. However, it will be their home in the UK that the UFC return to in the form of the O2 Arena in London, which has hosted two fight night events in 2022.

This will be the first time that the UFC has brought a PPV event to the UK since UFC 204 in 2016, which saw Michael Bisping defend his Middleweight Championship against Dan Henderson in Manchester.

Unlike UFC 204, which kicked off at midnight UK time, it was confirmed that UFC 286 will take place at Primetime in the UK. No fights are official yet, although in addition to the likely main event, UFC President Dana White mentioned in October the possibility of Khamzat Chimaev vs Colby Covington taking the co-main event spot, and today described the event as “the baddest card we could put together” to BT Sport.

“The UK MMA scene is exploding with talent right now and I can’t wait to show you guys what we have in store for you next year” said the UFC President.

Tickets will be available in January, with a Fight Club pre-sale on the 25^th, and the pre-sale for registering an interest on the 26^th, which can be done now. General sale will begin on the 27^th, with all sales beginning at 10am.