The UFC will hold its first event in Saudi Arabia on June 22 with a card headlined by a middleweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker, Dana White, the federation's president, announced Wednesday night.
The UFC Fight Night card will be broadcast for free on ABC.
White said Chimaev and Whittaker will compete to determine the number one contender for middleweight champion Drexus du Plessis.
Chimaev (13-0) has not fought since he defeated former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in October.
He pushed for a title bout with Du Plessis at UFC 300 in April, but du Plessis injured both legs when he took the championship from Sean Strickland in their January fight at UFC 297. Du Plessis told ESPN earlier this month that he expects to be Ready by mid-2024.
Whittaker (26-7), a former middleweight champion, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa in February. This was his first fight since a TKO loss to Du Plessis in July 2023.
White announced four more fights on the Saudi card: Sergey Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov, Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez, Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Ozdemir, and Shara Magomedov vs. Ihor Buteria.
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