Saudi Arabia is unhappy with the “weak” card of the inaugural UFC event, forcing the promotion to postpone

Ariel Helwani revealed yesterday (Monday, January 15, 2024) on The MMA Hour that UFC Arabia is expected to be rescheduled from March 2, 2024 to sometime in June 2024.

The event currently does not have a main event and will be the promotion’s first show in the oil-rich country after it An event deal is concluded in 2023.

“The UFC event scheduled for March 2 in Saudi Arabia has been postponed, and the target is June,” Helwani said. “I was told the reason for the postponement was because they – the powers that be in Saudi Arabia – just wanted a more entertaining fight card, how should we say it. A deeper fight card with bigger names. [They] weren’t very happy with what was offered. So, at this point it will be moved to later in the year, June.

Halwani said: “I have been informed through private sources that the event scheduled for March 2 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been postponed and that the new scheduled date is June.”

He added: “I was told that the reason for the postponement was that they wanted a more entertaining, more in-depth fight card with bigger names, and they were not happy with what was presented.”

UFC Arabia will feature eight fights booked so far, and should be on the verge of completion with only three ranked fighters available. The event was originally scheduled to be – and remains to be – a free ESPN+ fight night card, but Helwani added to speculation it could switch to pay-per-view (PPV).
In this case, a return for UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev to defend his title seems like the most likely (or best) option. Makhachev recently indicated that he hopes to defend his title against Justin Gaethje in the same month that the UFC Saudi Championship was postponed.
It is noteworthy that the announced card for the event, which was scheduled for March, included the following matches:

• 155 lbs.: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez

• 185 lbs.: Eryk Anders vs. Jamie Pickett

• 155 lbs.: Ľudovít Klein vs. Joel Álvarez

• 135 lbs.: Vinicius Oliveira vs Yanis Ghemmouri

• 265 lbs.: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev

• 155 lbs.: Mohammad Yahya vs. Brendan Marotte

• 135 lbs.: Javid Basharat vs. Aiemann Zahabi

• 155 lbs.: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Loik Radzhabov

Despite some exciting bouts with fighters like Joel Alvarez and Shamil Gaziev, the card lacks star appeal.
Fans had been hoping for big names like Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev, but no one seems to have booked anything yet.
Makhachev announced that he would fight in June instead of March, which could have contributed to the rebooking.
. It remains unclear, as of now, whether the March 2 card will be postponed or canceled altogether.