UFC announce events in Croatia and the Netherlands in 2016

UFC today announced two landmark events scheduled to take place in Europe in 2016; Croatia at the Zagreb Arena on Sunday April 10 and in The Netherlands at the Ahoy Rotterdam on Sunday May 8.

Both are new markets for the UFC as the company continues to demonstrate growth in the EMEA market.

Tickets for UFC Fight Night Zagreb will go on general sale on Friday, February 12 and for UFC Fight Night Rotterdam on Thursday, March 24. Both events will be broadcasted live on FS1 in the United States and on BT Sport in the UK (part of the Setanta pack in Ireland).

Both Croatia and The Netherlands have a strong link to combat sports with K1 in The Netherlands providing many top Dutch mixed martial arts athletes such as Alistair Overeem, Gegard Mousasi and Stefan Struve with their start in the sport. Croatia alike is home to one of the most legendary mixed martial artists of all time, recently retired Mikro Cro Cop, who has seen success in PRIDE, K1 and UFC, building combat sports in Croatia with his accomplishments.

Croatian no.2 ranked heavyweight Stipe Miocic put on a dominant performance over former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at UFC 195: Lawler vs Condit on January 2, he commented, “It would be a dream if I was able to fight in Croatia, I travelled there for the first time in 2015 to train with Mirko Cro Cop and it was a great experience just to see the country and spend some time there with my family. I don’t know what the UFC has in store for me now but I’ll definitely be back in Croatia one way or another.”

Fellow Dutch heavyweight Stefan Struve is also looking to be a part of history at Ahoy Rotterdam in May, “I got goosebumps when I was told the UFC is finally coming our way, I’m thrilled it’s finally going to happen. No matter what I want to fight on this card, at this point in my career this is what I need to fight in front of my friends and family and deliver a show like I can.”

“It is truly a testimony to the growth of the UFC brand to be breaking into two new markets in Europe in the first half of 2016,” commented James Elliott, UFC EMEA General Manager and Vice President, “The fans have been demanding local live events and we will not disappoint with two compelling shows.”

Miroslav Stanec, Project Manager at Zagreb Arena added, “Croatia is a sports nation and we are more than thrilled that we will host such a spectacular fighting organisation like UFC. Not just because of the beauty of the sport, but because UFC promotes health, will to succeed and the way of life. I am very excited that Arena Zagreb will be the first venue in region to hold an event and will enter UFC history.”

Peter van der Veer, CEO Ahoy Rotterdam, “We are thrilled to be the first Dutch venue to host UFC. Ahoy Rotterdam has a long history in sports. We have hosted many national, European and world championships and other premier sporting events like Sixday Indoor Cycling, ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament and the Premier League of Darts. In short, Rotterdam is the perfect city to host this spectacular event.”