WA Government, TKO To Bring Four Additional Events To Perth

KO Group Holdings, Inc. has announced an expansion of its collaboration with the Western Australian Government, confirming that Perth will host four additional UFC and WWE events through 2026.

This strategic partnership not only cements Perth’s position as a significant venue for these major combat sports but also highlights the ongoing relationship between KO Group and the state government.

As part of this enhanced agreement, RAC Arena is set to host a UFC FIGHT NIGHT later this year, marking a total of five significant events for both the UFC and WWE in Perth over the next two years. Notably, WWE’s forthcoming return will culminate in a weekend extravaganza at RAC Arena, featuring a mix of SmackDown, a Premium Live Event, and Raw across three nights.

This comes on the heels of the successful WWE Elimination Chamber event that took place in February 2024, which drew an impressive crowd of over 52,000 fans to Optus Stadium, an achievement made possible through the WA Government’s support.

Commenting on the partnership, Premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook, said: “The return of UFC and WWE in 2025 is a major coup for Western Australia, following the roaring success of UFC 284 and WWE Elimination Chamber that collectively injected nearly $50 million into our economy last year.”

Executive Vice President, Event Development and Operations for TKO, Peter Dropick, added: ““Perth is a world-class city, home to many passionate UFC and WWE fans, and we’re thrilled to expand this partnership with the WA Government.”

“Perth’s tourism hospitality is second to none, and UFC and WWE will proudly showcase the city and its wonderful people to the world through our global broadcasts reaching more than one billion homes across 170 countries. We thank Premier Cook and the WA Government for making this possible,” he said.

“Both UFC and WWE have proven to be huge drawcards with a dedicated fan base, and we expect to see thousands of out-of-state visitors travel to Perth to attend these blockbusters,” he said.

Looking back at 2024, the initial agreement between the UFC and the WA Government was to bring two major events to Perth over this two-year period. The first of these, UFC 305: DU PLESSIS vs. ADESANYA, was particularly noteworthy, setting records with a capacity crowd of more than 14,000 attendees and achieving the highest-grossing designation in RAC Arena’s history.

This milestone eclipsed a previous record held by UFC 284: MAKHACHEV vs. VOLKANOVSKI in 2023.

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