Since creating the UFC Apex just outside of Las Vegas, the building has become the home for the Octagon. In late October, the 99th official event was held there since 2020, including six Power Slap cards and even a recent WWE event.
But coming in the new year, the promotion is planning to hit the road more often. And that is a great thing for mixed martial arts fans across both the United States and world.
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“There will be more (events on the road),” UFC vice president David Shaw told reporters recently (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quotes). “There will be an increased number of events outside of the Apex relative to this year as we get into the 2025 schedule. I think having home games and being in the Apex where we can just turn off the lights and lock the door, it makes a lot of sense for us.”
Shaw added that not using the Apex isn’t in the card but they want to “find the right balance for us.”
“There’s a lot of fighters in Vegas,” Shaw said. “It’s easy for us operationally, it’s simple from a budgetary perspective. The rigor and the pressure and how laborious it can be to be on the road, it’s tough.”
UFC Planning To Take Events Around The Globe More Often In 2025
So, where might we be seeing the Octagon in the next 12 months? Shaw gave a glimpse into those plans.
“We’re going to be back in the (United Kingdom) next year,” he said. “Then as we get through next year….the intention is to be able to go back to Europe more often.”
Shaw noted that the current media deal in the United States is causing much of the decision-making with where events are held.
“It’s tough for just to anticipate what two or three years down the road looks like,” he said. “But it makes a lot of sense for a lot for reasons (to use the UFC Apex).”
The next card actually takes place back in the Apex with Neil Magny and Carlos Prates squaring off this Saturday night. It is the final one scheduled for the building this year, with the first in 2025 set for January 11.
