Greg Savage of Sherdog has the latest on a potential fight between Matt Hughes and Renzo Gracie at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi in April:
When Dana White was asked Thursday if the Hughes-Gracie bout would he held in Abu Dhabi –- a location White recently scouted himself –- the UFC President answered cryptically.
“Sounds good to me,” he said, smiling broadly.
Asked about making that match, White noted that he respects a lot of fighters in the sport and implied that not every UFC fight has to have title implications.
“There’s this whole beef over Renzo choking out Pat Miletich (Hughes’ mentor) and sometimes it’s more than just; sometimes guys just want to fight and Renzo’s been training, he wants to fight Matt Hughes and Matt Hughes wants to fight him,” said White.
The fact that Sheik Tahnoon, of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family, is a Renzo Gracie black belt, along with White’s own statements on the promotion’s desire to hold an event in the United Arab Emirate’s capital, all point to the UFC’s Middle Eastern debut with this headlining bout.
Payout Perspective:
The match-up itself isn’t as intriguing as where the fight might be held. The UAE is very much intent on becoming a prominent tourist and financial destination in the world. The latter has been called into question as of late in Dubai, but it stands to reason that if Sheik Tanhoon has a significant interest in the sport of MMA, the UFC could benefit from his support. These types of events are proven tourist attractions and Abu Dhabi definitely has the motivation to throw some serious marketing dollars behind the event.
With all the bad or unlucky things that have transpired over the last few months within the sport – and particularly within MMA – the news that the UFC may be heading to Abu Dhabi is something to look forward to.
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