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The top 10 biggest fight cities in the world

By Thomas Albano

The Las Vegas Strip and skyline including various hotels and casinos are seen at night in Las Vegas, Nevada, in this photograph taken October 18, 2016. / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
The Las Vegas Strip and skyline including various hotels and casinos are seen at night in Las Vegas, Nevada, in this photograph taken October 18, 2016. / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) /
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 13: An aerial view of hot air balloons flying above the Melbourne city skyline on February 13, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Paul Rovere/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 13: An aerial view of hot air balloons flying above the Melbourne city skyline on February 13, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Paul Rovere/Getty Images) /

8. Perth/Melbourne/Sydney, Australia

UFC President Dana White has openly expressed great experiences every time the UFC goes to Australia, previously stating it is one of his favorite markets and the UFC will continue to go back to Australia. Each time the UFC goes to the “Land Down Under” for a card, it’s filled with some of Australia’s best talent and brings about a crowd that is always lively, cheery and loud. Maybe not everyone is into native fighter Tai Tuivsasa’s “shoeys” but when he and other of the country’s fighters enter an arena, there’s no quieting the crowd down. Bonus points to them for coming out to pay-per-view cards that start early in the morning on Sunday over there.

Australia is home to plenty of regional professional and amateur MMA promotions, including Australian Fighting Championship, XFC, and Nitro MMA. With plenty of MMA gyms in the country, Australia has produced talents such as Tuivasa, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Alexander Volkanovski, Arlene Blencowe, Elvis Sinosic, Tyson Pedro and more.

Sydney was the first city in the country to host a UFC event with UFC 110 in February 2010, a card at the sold-out Acer Arena that featured Cain Velasquez knocking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Wanderlei Silva battling Michael Bisping. The UFC returned to the Acer Arena and country with UFC 121 one year later, selling out even faster than before, with a card that featured B.J. Penn battling Jon Fitch to a draw and Michael Bisping defeating Jorge Rivera in a grudge match. Sydney has since hosted three UFC Fight Night cards.

Melbourne has hosted just three cards — two of them pay-per-view events — but its first is arguably Australia’s most memorable UFC card. A crowd of 56,214 people at the Docklands Stadium — the biggest crowd in promotion history — witness perhaps its greatest upset when Holly Holm ended Ronda Rousey’s undefeated record and claimed the UFC women’s bantamweight title. That card also featured Joanna Jędrzejczyk retaining the strawweight title against Valerie Letourneau and big wins for Mark Hunt and Whittaker. Melbourne hosted UFC 234 earlier this year, which saw New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya best former longtime middleweight king Anderson Silva.

Despite just hosting one event, Perth should get a mention here, too, with its hosting of UFC 221 last year. Yoel Romero bested Luke Rockhold in the main event, while Curtis Blaydes defeated Mark Hunt in the co-main event. The rest of the card featured big finishes from Tuivasa and Pedro, as well as Adesanya’s UFC debut and the pay-per-view debut of Volkanovski.

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