New Zealand has played host to UFC action on several occasions so far, and each visit left Auckland hungry for more. With the promotion’s global expansion showing no signs of slowing down, fight fans across the country are wondering whether the UFC is set to return in the future.

New Zealand’s UFC History

UFC’s history in New Zealand began over a decade ago, back in June 2014 when UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs Marquardt touched down at Vector Arena. It marked the UFC debut on Kiwi soil, and it proved popular enough that the promotion made a return three years later.

UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Hunt was next up, this time at Spark Arena in June 2017, headlined by heavyweight star Mark Hunt, who took on Derrick Lewis in front of a raucous home crowd. 

The third and most recent visit came in February 2020, when UFC Fight Night: Felder vs Hooker drew over ten thousand fans to Spark Arena, with local favourite Dan Hooker headlining against Paul Felder in what became one of the fights of the year. None of the three events were pay-per-views, but there remains an appetite for a UFC return in bigger fashion.

Homegrown Talent Keeps New Zealand In The Mix

A major reason the UFC kept returning to New Zealand was due to the depth of homegrown talent based there. Auckland’s City Kickboxing Gym produced middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, as well as Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France. That cluster of fighters gives the promotion a reason to schedule a return sooner rather than later, since a hometown headliner is almost guaranteed to sell tickets. As long as City Kickboxing keeps producing, New Zealand will stay firmly in the mix for future events.

Funding Future Events

Staging a UFC event overseas is expensive, with a need to cover venue hire, travel, broadcast production and more. Therefore, promotions increasingly rely on sponsors to make the numbers work. Sports betting companies and online casinos have become some of the most active sponsors in combat sports, drawn to the highly engaged audience that MMA delivers. These partnerships are key when it comes to funding undercards, bonuses, arena signage and streaming deals, which help boost smaller markets like New Zealand so that staging an event is financially viable. And as regulated sports betting and casino businesses grow in the country, it could make a fourth UFC event easier to justify.

Is A Return On The Cards?

Given the turnout for the previous shows, the depth of fighters in Auckland, and growing sponsorship interest, a fourth UFC event taking place in New Zealand actually feels more like a question of when and not if. The promotion has always shown itself willing to return to the markets that deliver, and New Zealand has done that several times already. With Adesanya, Hooker and Kara-France still active and a broadcast partner already in place, Auckland seems ready to welcome the UFC back sooner rather than later.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, a country or a city has to give reasons why the UFC should visit or return, and New Zealand does so in abundance. Every box is ticked, including three previous events that were hugely successful. The country wants it, the city wants it, the fans want it, so it makes a lot of sense for a return to happen.