First Scottish UFC event to be held this year

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The long-awaited inaugural Scottish UFC event will now definitely take place later this year. UFC announced at a press conference in Stockholm last week that UFC Fight Night 73 will take place at the SSE Hydro arena in Glasgow.

Within an hour of the announcement, more than 3,000 fight fans had pre-registered to buy UFC Scotland tickets. There has been talk of UFC coming to Scotland for more than five years now. But up until the SSE Hydro arena was opened last year the reason for the delay was thought to be connected to the lack of a suitable arena.

Added to the opening of the Hydro, the signing of Scottish fighter Joanne Calderwood to UFC probably tipped the balance for this year’s event to get the go-ahead. Back in November last year, UFC president Dana White had hinted that it wouldn’t be long until UFC would come to Scotland. But he had not given any kind of provisional date.

Fans interested in attending the event should put a note in their diary. Tickets should go on sale in May and it will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 in the States and on BT Sport in the UK.

Of course, if you want to get a bet on the fights during the event, you can do so at many of the bookmaking sites, such as 32red or Paddy Power, both online and on mobile.

Calderwood has said she’s delighted at the prospect of fighting on home soil. The 28-year-old was the first Scotswoman to fight in the UFC and she was featured in season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC reality TV show. In the finale, Calderwood fought South Korean Seo Hee Ham and although she was tagged repeatedly by Ham at the beginning, she managed to take control of the fight and finished the winner. In her pro career, she has a 9-0 record and is working towards a shot at a title – the 115lb belt which is currently held by Carla Esparza. To go for the title at the UFC Scotland event would obviously be the icing on the cake for Calderwood.

Another Scottish fighter who’s eager to take part in the UFC Scotland event is Robert Whiteford. He is one of the Dinky Ninja fight team based in Glasgow. Whiteford is the first Scot to have a UFC victory and is very likely to have a place at the July event. The 31-year-old has been struggling with back and knee injuries for almost a year now and so is looking to get a fight in during April in order to raise his game before the summer. His injury ruled out his fight with Dennis Siver last year. Whiteford is particularly looking forward to the possibility of fighting on home soil as he imagines that all Scottish fighting fans will get behind the home fighters.

It’s customary for UFC to sign additional local fighters when it first visits a new territory. So, it’s not just Whiteford and Calderwood who could be making Scotland proud in July. Indeed, there could be a number of other Scottish fighters for the undercard. One strong favourite to be signed would be Steven Ray, who is the Cage Warriors lightweight champion. The 24-year-old has a 16-5 fighting record and two victories under his belt over former UFC fighter Curt Warburton.