UFC announces first-ever event in Paris scheduled for Sept. 3 

The highly anticipated debut in France is finally set. 

The UFC is heading to France with its first-ever event scheduled for Sept. 3 at the Accor Arena in Paris.

The company announced on Thursday via press release that tickets will go on sale on June 23.

France legalized mixed martial arts over two years ago, which cleared the way for promotions to host shows. Bellator was the first promotion to debut in the country with Bellator Paris, an event headlined by heavyweights Cheick Kongo and Timothy Johnson. The UFC expected to follow suit with its own event, but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

No fights have been confirmed for UFC Paris, but there are some rumored ones that could be featured at the highly anticipated event. Ariel Helwani and Al Zullino reported that a heavyweight fight between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa was being targeted as the headliner. Should it be confirmed, the former UFC interim heavyweight champion would compete in front of a hometown crowd as he fights out of Paris. ‘Bon Gamin’ has not fought since losing a unanimous decision to Francis Ngannou in a title unification at UFC 270 this past January.

Middleweights Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori have also lobbied to get their fight rescheduled for this event. The ‘Reaper’ and The ‘Italian Dream’ were expected to share the Octagon at UFC 275, the upcoming pay-per-view event set to take place in Singapore, but the former UFC middleweight champion was forced to withdraw because of an injury.

Katlyn Chookagian expressed interest in fighting Manon Fiorot, the French flyweight who has been victorious in all four of her UFC appearances. Fiorot recently earned the biggest win of her professional career thus far, a unanimous decision over a one-time title challenger in Jennifer Maia at UFC Columbus.

More news on UFC Paris should become available in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for any updates.