LAS VEGAS – It took essentially the entirety of the UFC’s existence for it to make its first trip to France – through no fault of the promotion, of course.
But don’t expect that long of a wait for the UFC to head back there, [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] said. Legalized MMA finally happened in France in 2020, and though the UFC wasn’t the one to break the major MMA ceiling – that honor went to Bellator – by most accounts its debut there this past Saturday was a big success.
UFC Fight Night 209 took place at Accor Arena in Paris, where home city fan favorite and former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane thrilled the crowd with a third-round knockout of Tai Tuivasa in the main event.
White said he expects the UFC to be back there in the near future, in part thanks to the boisterous response from the French fans.
“It was incredible,” White said Tuesday after Dana White’s Contender Series 53 in Las Vegas. “The energy was probably as big and as badass as anything we’ve ever done. There was a lot of pent-up demand (for MMA) and frustration in France, and you felt it on Saturday night. The thing I’m always proud of is when we go into a market like France, and you see how educated the fans are – all these little moves that happen on the ground, and people are reacting to it. That’s what I love.
“It’s a different vibe in Europe. You guys know how good it is (in the United States), and then when you go to Europe, the fans are different than they are here. They sing, they chant – it’s just a different buzz and energy. It’s fun. I tell people all the time, ‘If you’ve never been to a fight in Europe, you’ve got to go.'”
White said a return to Paris, France’s capital city, largest city, and one of the most popular and storied cities in the world, will happen – but it’s not a lock that it’ll be the location of the UFC’s next trip to the country.
Instead, he said, the promotion is likely to go to a different city for a smaller event before heading back to the “City of Lights” for a major card.
Paris is by far the country’s largest city with more than 13 million people. But Lyon has in excess of 2 million people, and Marseille, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, has nearly 2 million.
“We’ve got to figure out what’s next, but you know how we like to do it: We like to move it around,” White said. “So we’ll probably do a different city – maybe a Fight Night or something in a different city (in France), and then head out there with a big pay-per-view in Paris again.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.
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