The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to the Atlanta area for the first time since 2012 (and the fifth time in company history) when the promotion hits Duluth’s Arena at Gwinnet Center on January 15.
The organization announced UFC Fight Night 35 on Thursday evening.
The last time that the UFC hit Atlanta, Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight championship against Rashad Evans at UFC 145. That card took place at the Philips Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks and the now-defunct Atlanta Thrashers.
The Arena at Gwinnet Center is a smaller arena that can hold up to 13,300 fans when set up for concerts. Since this is a UFC Fight Night event, one can expect the seating structure to be scaled down to 10,000 or less seats.
The promotion also announced a pair of fight bookings for the card.
Georgia’s Cole Miller, coming off one of the more impressive wins of his career, will face Sam Sicilia. Miller famously called out Conor McGregor after defeating Andy Ogle at UFC Fight Night 30 in October. Instead, he’ll settle for Sicilia, who is coming off his own solid performance in a win over Godofredo Castro.
Also booked for the event is Team Alpha Male standout T.J. Dillashaw, who will look to right the ship after his October loss to Raphael Assuncao when he faces Mike Easton.
The most famous fight to take place in the Atlanta area? That likely goes to the main event of UFC 88, which featured Evans knocking out former champion Chuck Liddell.
Tickets for UFC Fight Night 35 go on sale December 6.
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