10 cities we want to see the UFC at in 2023
By Alec Arritola
2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The UFC visited The Steel City three times over six years, spanning from June 2011 to Sept. 2017. That makes five years since the promotion has graced its presence in the home of black and yellow, and there are local fans hungry for more live-action.
Pittsburgh, the second most populous city in Pennsylvania behind Philadelphia, has hosted UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry, UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy, and UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch, all at the PPG Paints Arena.
The most recent event, UFC Fight Night: Luke Rockhold vs. David Branch, featured a middleweight bout between former Strikeforce and UFC champion Rockhold versus former WSOF middleweight and light heavyweight champion David Branch headlined the event, ending in a second-round victory for Rockhold.
Some great fighters hailing from Pennsylvania include Phil Davis, Eddie Alvarez, Josh Koscheck, Piankhi Zimmerman, Justin Baesman, Justin Levens, Richard Patishnock, Paul Felder, Sean Brady, Chris Daukaus, Zach Makovsky, Charlie Brenneman, Dan Swift, Sidney Outlaw, Patrick Cummins, Mike Ciesnolevicz, and Pat Sabatini.
With a nearly 20,000-person capacity, PPG Paints Arena is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home and is a perfectly suitable venue for a stacked UFC 2023 event. The arena opened on August 18, 2010, with a performance by Paul McCartney that filled the arena’s 19,000-person capacity. It is considered among the best indoor arenas in North America.