The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) series will come to Scotland for the first time ever this summer when it will host an event at the Hydro.
The world’s biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) association will stop by Glasgow’s Hydro on Saturday 18 July.
The news was announced today by Scottish UFC women’s strawweight fighter Joanne “BadMofo” Calderwood, at a press conference in Stockholm.
No fighters have been named for the event yet however Joanne hopes to be given the chance to compete in front of her home crowd at the 13,000-capacity SSE Hydro arena.
Calderwood, a former Scottish Muay Thai champion who is based in Glasgow, appeared on the UFC’s reality TV series, The Ultimate Fighter, in 2014 and went on to win her debut fight in the UFC in December.
She said: “People at home have been asking the UFC to come to Scotland for so long now, so I just know this will be a sellout.” said Calderwood. “It would be a dream come true for me to fight in Glasgow for the UFC. The opportunity to step inside the Octagon in front of a home crowd would be something I know I’d never forget.”
Joanna currently has an impressive unbeaten 9-0 record and hopes earn a shot at the women’s 115lb belt, currently held by American Carla Esparza.
Robert Whiteford, 31, was the first Scot to fight and win in the UFC on his debute on 26 October 2013 and may be another possible fighter on the card.
Whiteford, who fights out of Glasgow but is from Armadale hopes to fight sometime in April to “build momentum” for the UFC Scotland event.
Unfortunately injury ruled him out of his last fight with Russian Dennis Siver and he has been plagued with back and knee problems for most of last year.
In November last year UFC President Dana White was asked in a press conference in Las Vegas whether UFC would be coming to Scotland to which he responded: “We’re definitely coming to Scotland, absolutely 100%”.
An SSE Hydro spokeswoman said: “We’re one of the best arenas in the world and they’ve had their eye on us since we opened our doors – we have been talking to them for a while.
“The shape of the venue, it’s a kind of amphitheatre shape, it just suits the set-up for the UFC. So it will work really, really well.”
Tickets and pricing have yet to be announced for the event however they are expected to go on sale in May. Fans can submit their details on the Hydro’s website and receive updates.
