The UFC is headed back to the Middle East, despite a growing conflagration in the area that’s seeing many of it’s host countries being hit by missiles.
When Operation Epic Fury was launched against Iran on February 28th, U.S. president Donald Trump suggested it might last just a few days. But now we’re three weeks in and there’s no sign that hostilities are dying down. Iran continues to hit U.S. allies in the Middle East with ballistic missiles, cluster warheads, and drones — with attacks including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
Those three countries have paid large sums to UFC in the past to host events, and there were big questions about how parent company TKO would handle the current situation given the amount of money UFC and WWE make off events in the Middle East.
Both Azerbaijan and UAE have been hit by Iran in the current military operation, although in limited ways. Azerbaijan shares a border with Iran and reported a drone strike on an airport terminal in early March. Abu Dhabi has seen numerous missile and drone attacks in the city, mostly targeting U.S. military infrastructure.
Yesterday (March 18th, 2026) saw a potentially world-changing escalation after Israeli missiles hit Iran’s South Pars gas field, which prompted Iran to retaliate and hit Qatar’s Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) complex. While Trump sent out a strongly worded tweet saying he didn’t want to see any more attacks on energy infrastructure, there are a lot of actors involved in this conflict and many ways for things to spiral out of control.
For now, the UFC is betting on the Middle East being stable enough for them to hold shows this summer, and they’ve proven they aren’t gun shy. Even after bombs fell on Qatar in June and September 2025, the UFC still rolled into Doha as scheduled for a November Fight Night event headlined by Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker.