. The first UFC pay-per-view event of 2019 will take place from sunny Southern California.
A report broke from The Los Angeles Times today that January 26’s UFC 233 will go down from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. UFC President Dana White told Lance Pugmire that the UFC was returning to the area. The news follows a successful UFC 227 event from Los Angeles.
The card, which went down at Staples Center, brought a live gate of $2.9 million and an attendance of 17,794. White unveiled the booking at a matchmaker meeting. He confirmed no fights had been made official yet:
“We have no fights yet, the card’s not ready.”
Pugmire continued that a potential super fight between bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who was born in Yorba Linda, California, and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo, who was born in L.A., is an obvious headliner for the event due to the fighters’ homes.
One official not involved in direct meetings even went as far as to assume the fight was official for the January card. White called those reports “not true.” He is obviously involved in the final decision making.
Another noteworthy aspect of the card is that it will face the finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. There, the legendary Fedor Emelianenko will meet Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. The evening promises to be the most heated night of MMA action in the young year as a result.
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