Foreign Cities the UFC Needs to Visit Soon

With the global expansion that the UFC looks to bring in the coming years, there are a number of places they plan on visiting to promote the sport.

Currently already planned for this year, the UFC will travel to Brazil, Japan, Australia and Sweden. The UFC has traditionally booked events in mainstays like the United States (obviously), Canada and the United Kingdom.

While these markets are important to the UFC, they will need to continue to tap new markets, which will be examined now.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Dutch are known for their world-renowned kickboxers, but they also are home to some of the best mixed martial artists in the world.

Bringing the UFC to a venue like the Amsterdam Arena could draw up to 50,000 fans from all over Europe and the world. 50,000 fans could lead to a large-scale pay-per-view, which could be led by some of the Netherlands stars.

Names such as Stefan Struve and Alistair Overeem are Netherlands residents who could lead the main card charge. Michael Kuiper is a Dutch fighter who could work the undercard.

Add to the card various other European fighters from the area and maybe sign a couple Dutch fighters to the promotion, and you got yourself a successful event.

Moscow, Russia

I know Russia is the land of M-1, but holding a UFC event in Moscow would be amazing.

Russia is a hot zone for combat sports such as boxing, sambo and MMA. They also have no shortage of venues, as they could go anywhere in the city such as the Olympic Stadium (around 25,000 attendance) or the Megasport Arena (about 16,000 attendance).

The UFC already has Russian fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dennis Siver (born there, though a German citizen) to build off.

Many fans would call for Fedor Emelianenko to fight on the card, which probably wouldn't happen due to the insistence of a co-promotion with M-1.

Plus, Russia has an abundance of young talent itching for a chance in the big leagues, which could make great undercard fights.

Paris, France

France is the home of the martial art that is savate. Even more than that, France holds notable kickboxers as well.

France also has some very good mixed martial artists that could be put on display. A venue such as the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris could hold an event of about 16,000 people. 

Frenchmen such as Cheick Kongo, Cyrille Diabate and Francis Carmont hail from France, and could be a nice start to the card.

Again, garner talent from Europe and America, sign a couple prospects and you have yourself a great debut card in France.

Beijing, China

China is still in the infancy stage in terms of MMA, but if history serves us correctly, they will catch up sooner than you think.

Holding an event in Beijing would be historic and help build a stream of fans in China. Beijing National Arena holds up to 90,000 people, which would be too big (I think), but a small venue to plant the seed like the Capital Indoor Stadium would host about 18,000 curious fans.

Tiequan Zhang is the only current Chinese fighter in the UFC, but the use of Japanese and Korean fighters, as well as established stars from the western hemisphere, could make a huge event.

Warsaw, Poland

Poland has quietly become a great place of growth for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Its leading promotion, KSW, has drawn great numbers and developed solid prospects. A UFC on FX or FUEL event could be held in a venue such as Tower Hall, which would hold somewhere around 8,000 fans, which would be a nice start in the country.

Two fighters with a Polish background, Bart Palaszewski and Krzysztof Soszynski, could grace the card. Add prospects such as Mamed Khalidov to the roster, and you would draw a crowd and a good event.

Mariusz Pudzianowski would be called for on the card, but I'm not sure the UFC would give him a chance.

Mexico City, Mexico

There is no doubt that people of Mexican decent are great fans of boxing, but the UFC has been trying to market to them using stars such as Cain Velasquez.

A guy like Velasquez could headline a card in a venue like Arena Mexico (16,500 capacity) or Mexico City Arena (22,000 capacity). Include other fighters with Mexican blood such as Robbie Peralta, and a big enough buzz could be generated to attract more fans.

If you can think of any place else that would be a great place for the UFC to visit, comment below!