As was first reported by Wrestling Observer, the UFC is unlikely to return to the United Kingdom this year. This will be the first time since the UFC made its return to Britain in 2007 that the promotion will not run a show in what had at one point become its largest non-North American market.
The UFC had hoped to run a show on October 15th but it seems like a sudden change in the dates available for shows on Spike undermined their plans. With no venues booked for the dates that Spike has offered them, the UFC efforts have reached a dead end. “We are left with trying to convince our [TV] partner to move the date or look to other locations. That is where we are now…There is, if I were to put a percentage on it, less than a 20 per cent chance that we will be able to bring an event to the UK this year. We are all gutted over it and the fans who are being so vocal should know we hear them and we will continue to work hard to satisfy them” explained UFC UK President Marshall Zelaznik to ESPN UK.
