UFC Likely to Return to Australia in the Backend of 2014
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is planning to bring an event back to Australia in the back end of 2014, according to the UFC Director of Operations in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, Tom Wright.
“The 2014 calendar hasn't been finalized, but we have every intention of coming back to Australia in 2014, probably in the back end of the year,” Wright said. “One of the things we want to do in time is to bring more than just one event to Australia.”
Brisbane held the country's fifth event on Saturday afternoon, with plans to bring the show back to Sydney unless the cage ban in Victoria is overturned in the next two to three months. If the ban is overturned, a show at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne would then be likely.
“We haven't decided. It could be in Sydney. With any luck, if we are able to get things done in Melbourne, at least in Victoria, we would like to go to Melbourne as well,” he continued.
“There's some encouraging news over the weekend as well from some decisions made to endorse a new policy at the liberal convention that resulted in approximately 75 percent of the delegates voting in favor of lifting the ban on the Octagon. Unfortunately that's not binding on the government, but if something was to happen in the next two to three months, we could come to Melbourne and we would probably go to Etihad.”
Wright also added that once the cage bans are overturned in Victoria and Western Australia and mixed martial arts is sanctioned correctly throughout the country, they will look for three to four regular shows per year in Australia.
“We're held back in two states, the state that Soa (Palelei) is from – WA and Victoria. They missed out on some great opportunities that where highlighted here in Brisbane,” he said.
“We would like in time to be able to be here three to four times a year. In order to do that, we gotta make sure we've got our sport properly regulated, sanctioned and allowed in a safe environment for the fighters, which is an Octagon.”
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