The UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates will air live on Fight Pass, and it features heavyweights Roy Nelson and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a five-round main event. It was reported last week that UFC officials were targeting this fight for their Abu Dhabi show, but didn’t have a date set. The card is set for April 11th, and the UFC also announced plans to run more shows in the Middle East as part of their partnership with FLASH Entertainment, who own a minority stake in Zuffa:
The UFC will return to the Middle East on Friday 11th April, at Abu Dhabi’s entertainment hotspot Yas Island, for the second of six Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Fight Night events to take place in 2014. The partnership will see at least five regional events staged in the next two years.
Yas Island is where UFC 112 was held back in April 2010, when Anderson Silva defended his middleweight title against Demian Maia, Frankie Edgar shocked the world by beating B.J. Penn, and Matt Hughes turned on his lethal K-1 striking and TKO’d Renzo Gracie.
As for the main event itself, Nelson (19-9) is aiming to put an end to his two-fight losing skid. After KOing Cheick Kongo at UFC 159, “Big Country” was soundly defeated by both Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier en route to lopsided decisions.
Nogueira (34-8-1, 1 NC) has been out of action since his coaching stint on TUF Brazil 2 opposite Fabricio Werdum. In the season finale, Werdum submitted him with an armbar in the Fortaleza, Brazil main event, giving him two submission defeats in his last three fights, having previously never tapped out in his long and illustrious career.
More details on the card should be announced shortly. Note that this event is on a Friday, as UAE (along with much of the Middle East) uses a Friday-Saturday weekend.
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