Head across the ditch for UFC 193

Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium has been officially revealed as the host of the upcoming UFC 193, which will feature a title fight in the welterweight division as well as a re-match of one of the greatest UFC heavyweight bouts in history.

After years of anticipation, the sporting capital of Australia will align with the biggest combat sports event that has ever been witnessed in Australia. The Octagon will land under the roof of Etihad Stadium on Sunday November 15.

UFC at Etihad Stadium represents a great opportunity for New Zealand fans to attend the event on our side of the globe. The event is expected to attract a large interstate and international audience and New Zealanders have a fantastic opportunity to get over to Australia to witness one of the biggest sporting events Melbourne has ever seen.

UFC, or mixed martial arts, has enjoyed a phenomenal rise in popularity around the world in recent years. The organisation has staged events in Australia previously, but the UFC has never conducted an event of this size in Australia, or anywhere in the world for that matter.

UFC is expecting to set a new world record for attendance at one of the organisation’s events with the capability of welcoming up to 70,000 patrons to Etihad Stadium for UFC 193.

The main event of UFC193 is Lawler vs. Condit. American Robbie Lawler will fight outside of the USA for the first time when he defends his welterweight title against Carlos Condit. It will be the first time a UFC Championship contest has ever been fought in Australia.

The co-main event will feature New Zealand born – now an adopted Aussie – fan favourite, Mark Hunt, against Brazilian Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in the heavyweight division. Hunt and Silva have not met in the Octagon since their epic battle in 2013, which was awarded the honour of ‘Fight of the Year’ and is to this day remembered as the greatest UFC heavyweight bout in history.

There’s a huge number of Aussies on the card including young gun Jake Matthews, who will aim to return to the winner’s list against Mexican fighter Akbarh Arreola, Kyle Noke, who will take on Polish competitor Peter Sobotta in the welterweight division, and four-time Olympian Daniel Kelly, who will take on middleweight Ricardo Abreu from Brazil.

UFC 193 will begin in the morning and continue through the afternoon, maximising the television audience around the globe, particularly in North America. The enormous television audience will ensure huge exposure for Etihad Stadium, Melbourne and Australia.

General public tickets will be available from 10am (AEST) on Monday September 21. UFC Fight Club members will have priority access during a presale period, which begins at 10am (AEST) on Monday September 14. More ticketing details will be released over the coming days and weeks. The best way to stay up to date with ticketing information is to log into your My Ticketmaster account and add UFC 193 to your favourites – click here to do that now.

Already there are eight confirmed bouts on the card for UFC 193 at Etihad Stadium, with more expected to be announced in the future. Below are the confirmed fights:

UFC 193 – Etihad Stadium, November 15, 2015

Robbie Lawler (26-10-0 1 NC) v Carlos Condit (30-8-0) (UFC welterweight championship)

Mark Hunt (10-9-1) v Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19-7-0 1 NC) (heavyweight)

Robert Whitakker (14-4-0) v Michael Bisping (28-7-0) (middleweight)

Jake Matthews (9-1-0) v Akbarh Arreola (23-9-1) (lightweight)

Kyle Noke (20-7-1) v Peter Sobotta (15-4-1) (welterweight)

Anthony Perosh (15-9-0) v Gian Villante (13-5-0) (light-heavyweight)

Daniel Kelly (9-1-0) v Ricardo Abreu (5-2-0) (middleweight)

Richard Walsh (8-4-0) v Steve Kennedy (22-7-0) (welterweight)