UFC planning to return to Abu Dhabi with light heavyweight title fight
The Ultimate Fighting Championships is planning to put on its second show ever in the Middle East according to
mmafighting.com. The website cited sources close to the promotion indicating that the UFC was intending to stage UFC 128 in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates on 19 March 2011, and that the main event will be a light heavyweight title fight between
current champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and number one contender “Suga” Rashad Evans.
This will be the second event the UFC holds in Abu Dhabi. After the surprise announcement last year that Emirati investors had bought 10 per cent of the company, the promotion staged UFC 112 there in April
2010, and set up a stacked card with two title fights.
Despite the promising card on paper, the main event turned out to be one of the greatest debacles in UFC history as middleweight champion Anderson Silva refused to engage Demian Maia, instead using his superior
stand up to utterly taunt and mock his opponent over five dreadful rounds. UFC president Dana White called it the worst moment in his career afterwards, but it appears the UFC is coming back strong with the Rua-Evans title fight.
If true, that also puts to rest speculation of when Rua will return. After having won the title in May 2010, he had to undergo knee surgery and reports have varied on his return, with dates ranging from January
to June. Evans has publicly expressed his frustration over the delays recently.
"It's just frustrating. I am a fighter and I need to make a living doing this, but at the same time it's about getting that gold. But if the gold is something that I'm not going to get an opportunity to fight
for then I have to face that possibility and move forward and do some other things. If I don't get the chance to fight for the belt, I will never ask to fight for this belt again,” Evans announced to
ESPN.com on 6 November.
White responded immediately afterward, also to
ESPN.com.
"That's the weirdest comment I have ever heard in my life. [Rashad] is scheduled to fight in March. It's not our fault; Shogun had knee surgery."
While the UFC hasn’t confirmed the event, the congruence of dates suggest the report is accurate. No other fights are reported for the card.
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