MMAPreview.com can confirm that the UFC will return to the UK on Saturday, October 18, with Michael Bisping taking on Chris Leben in the main event at UFC 89.

Bisping vs. Leben will happen in Birmingham at the National Indoor Arena and will be shown live in the UK on Setanta Sports 1.

Tickets will go on sale next week via usual outlets.

Setanta Sports announced on Thursday that they will be showing additional UFC programming, touting that they will now show ‘more UFC programming than any other channel on the planet’.

As well as airing every UFC PPV starting with UFC 86 on July 5, Setanta will also air special events like the recently-announced super-card headlined by Anderson Silva and James Irvin, as well as UFC Fight Nights, Ultimate Fighter series eight, UFC Wired and re-runs of older Ultimate Fighter series.

In a press release, UK UFC president Marshall Zelaznik noted that UFC were looking at running an outdoor show in the UK in the future.

He said: “We are going to continue to do four big events in the UK per year. We will be confirming our next UK event in a couple of weeks. We hold records in the biggest indoor venues in the UK already, and the next step is running big outdoor shows. The UFC in a UK football stadium would be an incredible fan experience.”

Phil Lowe
phil@wwepreview.com