UFC to return to the UK in October 2013?

The UFC will return to Manchester on October 26th 2013.

by Ben Heather @benheather

Fighters Only magazine have revealed in the latest issue (issue 101) of the magazine that the UFC will be returning to Manchester in October. This will mark the third time Manchester has staged a UFC event (UFC 70 and UFC 105 the previous two) and the 13th time the octagon has landed in the UK. It will also be the second UK event of 2013, after UFC on Fuel TV 7 which took place in Wembley Arena London on 16th February 2013.

Fighters Only has learned from sources involved with the event that the date of the return to the UK is scheduled for October 26th 2013 and booked in the 21,000 capacity Manchester Arena. This will mark the long awaited return to Manchester as the last event UFC 105 was almost four years before this event is scheduled to take place in November 2009.

If the event sells out or gets an attendance of more than just over 17,000 people it will become the most attended UFC event in the UK. I believe with the right card and ticketing pricing strategy it could definitely happen.

With this being the second UFC event in the UK of 2013 it also shows a change to the past couple of years which have only seen one event in the UK in both 2011 and 2012. This will be welcomed by all UK fans as they have been calling for more regular UFC events in the UK.

As of going to print Fighters Only had no specifics regarding the potential bouts for the event, but the event could be shown in the US on the upcoming Fox Sports 1 channel.

While in the UK no news has been announced regarding a new tv deal yet, but I believe the current deal expires in August. If the UFC gets the tv deal in the UK that they have been looking to get for the past couple of years then this event could be one to reward both the new tv station and the UK MMA fans alike.

Keep checking KingdomMMA for the latest news regarding UFC Manchester 2013.