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10 cities we want to see the UFC at in 2023

By Alec Arritola

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MARCH 31: A UFC sign is seen on Copacabana beach to promote the UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade, on March 31, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade will take place on May 11 at Jeunesse Arena. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MARCH 31: A UFC sign is seen on Copacabana beach to promote the UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade, on March 31, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UFC 237: Namajunas Vs. Andrade will take place on May 11 at Jeunesse Arena. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images) /
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. (Photo by Matt Hunt/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
. (Photo by Matt Hunt/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

8. Bangkok, Thailand

The home of the art of eight limbs. For years, elite fighters have flocked to Thailand to hone their Muay Thai prowess and train with the best. One notable gym, Tiger Muay Thai, located in Phuket, has dramatically assisted champions like Alexander Volkanovski and Valentina Shevchenko with their striking skills over the years. Virtually every top fighter in the world has trained in Thailand at one point or another, and the country holds a special place in martial arts history.

Muay Thai is the primary fighting style of various mixed martial artists, including Shevchenko, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Darren Till, Jiří Procházka, Jan Błachowicz, Rafael Cordeiro, Ciryl Gane, and many others.

The first-ever martial artist to bring Muay Thai into the UFC was Orlando Wiet, who represented Muay Thai at UFC 2 in 1994. In case you are a newer MMA fan: The Ultimate Fighting Championship started by pitting different fight styles against each other to see which would win; this is how the Gracie family brought Brazilian jiu-jitsu into the mainstream. It would take several years before Muay Thai was seen as one of the most effective striking martial arts.

Although fighters mainly train in Phuket at famous gyms like Tiger and Phuket Top Team, the real action takes place in the famous (and infamous) capital city of Bangkok. Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, is the most populous city in Thailand, with over 10.5 million residents. It is the financial hub of Thailand and is among the world’s top tourist destinations, attracting well over ten million tourists every year.

An ideal venue for the UFC to hold an event in Thailand would be Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Also known as Sanam Muay Lumpinee, this intimate and exclusive 5,000-person venue hosts some of the world’s most important Muay Thai events. Its only rivaling venue in Thailand is Rajadamnern Stadium, which has a slightly larger 8,000-person capacity.

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