Australia will be getting its second UFC card of 2023 later this year, with UFC 293 to be held in Sydney on September 10.
Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena will play host to the card, with Australian MMA fans eager for more of the Down Under action that they got when the UFC visited Perth in February.
The UFC’s last visit to Australia provided plenty of fireworks from home-grown fighters, but what can we expect to see from the company’s sixth trip to the Harbour City?
Who will be fighting at UFC 293 in Sydney?
Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Volkov
The UFC couldn’t put a show on in his hometown without Bam Bam featuring.
Tuivasa, 30, is booked to take on six-foot-seven Russian striker Volkov.
The vastly experienced 34-year-old comes into the bout with a 36-10 record as a professional and holds wins over the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem.
Tuivasa hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Sergey Pavlovich in December and will be hoping to avoid three straight losses when he takes on Volkov in front of what is sure to be a raucous home crowd.
Carlos Ulberg vs. Da Woon Jung
In currently the only confirmed fight for UFC 293, New Zealander Carlos Ulberg will go up against South Korea’s Da Woon Jung in a light heavyweight bout.
Ulberg is an up-and-comer in the UFC with plenty of momentum, coming into this clash with an 8-1 record, and riding a four-fight win streak.
But Jung will be no easy win for the Kiwi – three years Ulberg’s junior, Jung has already had more than double the fights of his opponent, a 15-4 record, despite coming off of two straight losses.
Casey O’Neill vs. Viviane Araujo
While not officially announced by the UFC, this clash of the flyweights has been confirmed by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
O’Neill will be looking to bounce back from the first-ever loss, when she went down to Jennifer Maia in March of this year, after nine consecutive wins to begin her career.
Viviane Araujo is also looking to right the ship after some rocky performances, losing three of her last four fights. But with a record of 11-5, she will definitely be ready for war.
Other possibilities
While no other fights have been confirmed for UFC 293, there have been a number of rumours of top Australian fighters ending up on the card.
It is most likely Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight championship, against the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis.
Alexander Volkanovski could also potentially feature on the card, as could Tai Tuivasa.
Will Alex Volkanovski fight at UFC 293 in Sydney?
Despite being just a few months shy of his 35th birthday, “Alexander The Great” is still chasing more opportunities for the future and didn’t rule out backing up to fight at UFC 293 in Sydney just nine weeks after he takes on Rodriguez.
“You never know. If there’s anyone who could do it, it’s definitely me,” he said.
“It’s just when you’re a champion, it’s hard to just fight anybody. You’ve got to fight the right opponents. If there was someone already there and it was an easy option, yeah, we probably would do it.
“We’ll see, I’ll never say never, I think I can turn around, hopefully we can turn around with no injuries. I’d be lying if I said I’m not working on it.”
One potential opponent is Georgia’s Ilia Topuria, who claimed a lopsided decision victory over Josh Emmett at the weekend to cement himself as the next man in line.
Speaking on The MMA Hour, Topuria put his hand up to take on Volkanovski on the road.
“I think Volkanovski is going to hold the belts, I think he will.” Topuria said.
“No f***ing problem [to fight Volkanovski in Australia]. If I’m the best in the world, I can beat him in Australia.
“In Las Vegas, in Miami, in Spain, wherever we go, I beat him. Like, location is no problem.”
Will Robert Whittaker fight at UFC 293 in Sydney?
Along with Volkanovski, Whittaker is also in action at UFC 290, taking on Dricus Du Plessis, and insists, if he’s healthy, he’d fight at UFC 293 given the chance.
“I’d like to fight in September. A pay-per-view card is coming to Sydney so I would like to fight in September, whatever happens,” he told Sporting News.
“I’m preparing for Dricus and I’m not looking past Dricus but I can say I want to fight on that card as well.
“If my body’s able to fight in September, I want to fight in September. I’m not really looking at the specifics of names because I’ve got to fight Dricus.”
