UFC starts booking up Middle East cards despite growing military conflict
An Emirates aircraft flies past plumes of smoke from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 16, 2026. Missiles and drone attacks hit across the UAE, with a drone-related incident sparking a fuel tank fire near Dubai airport that disrupted travel, while a missile killed a civilian in Abu Dhabi. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) / | AFP via Getty Images The UFC is headed back to the Middle East, despite a growing conflagration in the area that’s seeing many of it’s host countries being hit by missiles.
When Operation Epic Fury was launched against Iran on February 28th, U. S. president Donald Trump suggested it might last just a few days.
But now we’re three weeks in and there’s no sign that hostilities are dying down. Iran continues to hit U. S.
allies in the Middle East with ballistic missiles, cluster warheads, and drones — with attacks including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Those three countries have paid large sums to UFC in the past to host events, and there were big questions about how parent company TKO would handle the current situation given the amount of money UFC and WWE make off events in the Middle East. I will see you guys in Abu Dhabi in July😊 — Muhammad big ANK Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) March 19, 2026 For now, there is no change: UFC is going ahead with a UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 27th and an Abu Dhabi event in July.
Just reported for Baku: middleweight bouts between Shara “Bullet” Magomedov and Michel Pereira, as well as Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira. And for Abu Dhabi: the return of former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev.