UFC to Return to London, England, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in Early 2017

Good news for fight fans in Canada and the United Kingdom: The UFC is planning stops in both countries in the first quarter of 2017. The organization will first take over beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on February 19, before returning to London, England’s O2 Arena on March 18.

The UFC’s February show in Halifax will mark their second trip to the city. Their first visit to the Nova Scotian capital occured in October of 2014. That card was headlined by a welterweight contender bout between former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine and Canadian star Rory MacDonald. MacDonald would win the fight by third round TKO. This win would propel him into the lone title fight of his UFC career: a famous 2015 brawl with former champ Robbie Lawler. This first Halifax card also saw Raphael Assuncao defeat Bryan Caraway, while Canadian talents like Chad Laprise, Elias Theodorou, Nordine Taleb and Mitch Gagnon also picked up big wins on the card. As of now, it’s not known who will headline this Halifax return, though fans in the city can expect the bill to be stacked with Canadian fighters.

The UFC’s March return to London will mark their 9th visit to the city. Their most recent visit occured in February of this year. On that night, England’s Michael Bisping scored a career-changing win over Anderson Silva in an unforgettable middleweight battle. The card also featured a middleweight bout between Gegard Mousasi and Thales Leites, and appearances from some of England’s finest talent. As with the Halifax card, it is currently unknown who will handle London’s headlining duties.

To remind, the UFC still has stops in both countries planned before the end of this year. The organization will touch down in Belfast, Northern Ireland – part of the UK – in mid November. Several weeks later, the Octagon will return to Toronto, Ontario, Canada with UFC 206, a card that has been criticized for its lack of depth.

Will you be attending either of these newly announced shows? Sound off in the comments, PENN Nation!