UFC Saudi Arabia: Ranking fighters most likely to be on historic card

Since the first UFC Saudi Arabia card was announced recently, anticipation around who could be on it has been palpable.

The event is set for March 2024 and will be the first time the Kingdom hosts a UFC showcase. Although it is a UFC Fight Night rather than a numbered event with guaranteed title fights, the UFC will want to mark their Saudi debut with a bang. But which fighters could feature?

Although everything is speculation at the time of writing, there have been potential clues that have sent the MMA community into a spin.

The UFC’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, fired up the rumor mill through social media. He was the first fighter to tweet his admiration of the deal, which felt significant given he is set to return around the same time.

More recently, the former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was slightly more direct with his connection to the event. In an online post showing his appreciation for Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Adesanya added: “Saudi Arabia in March ... tempting hahaha.”

While we are sure to see some up-and-coming Middle East MMA fighters compete in the famed Octagon, the rest of the UFC Saudi Arabia card is a mystery. However, here is a look at the UFC roster of stars who could feature as the main and co-main events in March 2024 — and those unlikely to appear. 

Not a chance

OK, let’s get these fighters out of the way early. As it is a UFC Fight Night without any titles on the line, we can safely rule out the following fighters: Alexandre Pantoja, Sean O’Malley, Alexander Volkanovski, Islam Makhachev, Leon Edwards, Sean Strickland, Alex Pereira, Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, Zhang Weili and Alexa Grasso. All of the above hold a championship strap at the time of writing and will sit out