The UFC officially announced their return date for London and confirmed the event will air live on pay-per-view.
UFC 286 will emanate from the O2 Arena on March 18th. The promotion did not announce any matchups for the event, but the card will likely be headlined by the heavily rumored rematch between newly crowned welterweight champion Leon Edwards and former titleholder Kamaru Usman.
🇬🇧 𝙒𝙀. 𝘼𝙍𝙀. 𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆 🤩#UFC286. March 18. O2 Arena. London 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Ldhrde0DlQ
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 7, 2022
As of now, this will be the second pay-per-view event in March as the promotion is scheduled to air UFC 285 just two weeks prior at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That event is rumored to feature the long-awaited return of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Highly touted prospect Bo Nickal is slated to make his official debut on that same night.
Following Leon Edwards’ shocking fifth-round knockout against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278, Dana White was keen on booking the rematch as part of a stadium show in London, though it appears the UFC President has decided against that idea, presumably due to the unpredictable weather in London.
The promotion held two events in London in 2022, both receiving critical acclaim. Their return to The Big Smoke in 2023 will be different in that it will be a pay-per-view broadcast rather than a Fight Night event. This will be London’s first PPV event since UFC 120 in October 2010.
