Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will make its debut in Qatar on Sat., Nov. 22, 2025 with a special “Fight Night” event on ESPN+ inside ABHA Arena in Doha. The promotion announced the date and location earlier today on social media.
“We’re going everywhere,” said UFC CEO Dana White. “We’re been in Abu Dhabi for a long time and we’re starting to move around. Qatar is something we’ve been working on for a couple of years now, and we finally got something done.”
UFC will return to the Middle East for UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26.
“The UFC has been a staple in Abu Dhabi for a long time and I think they’ve looked at Abu Dhabi and seen the success that they’ve had there and then Saudi [Arabia] and Azerbaijan. I’ve been wanting to go to Qatar for a long time and I’m looking forward to it.”
No fights have been announced for UFC Qatar but you can expect that to change sooner, rather than later.
“The event forms part of a vibrant season of major activities, supported by ongoing infrastructure development and notable growth in the events and conferences sector,” said CEO of Visit Qatar Abdulaziz Ali Al-Mawlawi. “The inclusion of UFC, with its fanbase of over 700 million worldwide, underscores this strategic direction and offers a unique platform to showcase Qatar’s sporting excellence and cultural richness.”
“We look forward to welcoming the UFC community and visitors from all around the world to Doha this November for an exceptional experience that highlights our capabilities and strengthens our international partnerships.”
For once I’d like to see them book all those muzzies against people that can actually fight when they’re in shitholia.
It’s been a while since fight fans have seen Ilia Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre Topuria, in the UFC Octagon, but his next fight is reportedly targeted for UFC Qatar later this year.
The older Topuria brother debuted in the UFC in February, dominating then-8-0 Colby Thicknesse to a unanimous decision victory.
A fun fight between Paulo Costa and Shara “Bullet” Magomedov is in the works for the UFC’s first visit to Qatar.
The November 22nd card in Doha, Qatar is getting booked up, with fights like Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Gustov, Alex Perez vs. Asu Almabayev, and Alexandre Topuria vs. Bekzat Almakhan being announced over the past week.
Now we have Paulo Costa revealing he’s agreed to a fight against Magomedov that was offered to him by UFC. Reputable MMA journalist Laerte Viana has confirmed the UFC plans to make this match the co-main event in Doha.
“Was offered Shara bullet in Qatar. It’s looks fun, I said yes,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Keep your eye(s) open guys … One single good Eye poke, be penalized with one less point, Shara fights 100% blind. Deal.”
“Get up, come on, get down with the Thicknesse. Get up, come on, get down with the Thicknesse.”
“I love this thong.”
Hooker probably gets wrecked by Tsarukyan.
Shamil Gaziev will get an opportunity to break into the top 10 in November.
Gaziev takes on Serghei Spivac at a UFC Fight Night event on Nov. 22 from ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar, per Gaziev’s management. Gaziev and Spivac were scheduled to fight on two different occasions – first at UFC Fight Night 256 in May, then UFC 316 in June, before the bout was scrapped when Gaziev pulled out due to a broken finger.
In his most recent appearance, Gaziev (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) scored a first-round knockout of Thomas Petersen at UFC Fight Night 250 in February. Meanwhile, Spivac (17-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid after dropping fights to Jailton Almeida, and Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who replaced Gaziev at UFC 316.