Conor McGregor And Khabib Break Las Vegas Record, Ben Askren Challenges UFC Champion, UFC 234
- The Octagon heads to Australia next month for UFC 234 with a middleweight title fight. The event features Robert Whittaker defending his belt against Kelvin Gastelum on February 9 from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Along with Whittaker vs. Gastelum, former champion Anderson Silva takes on rising contender Israel Adesanya in the co-main event. Other planned fights include Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon, Devonte Smith vs. Dong Hyun Ma and Shane Young vs. Austin Arnett.
- Last year, former UFC champion Conor McGregor returned to the Octagon after a lengthy delay to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title. The bout was remembered more for what happened after, as Nurmagomedov jumped into the crowd and set off a melee.
The event, UFC 229, generated a record-breaking $86.4 million for the city of Las Vegas. According to numbers released by the UFC, 414 jobs were supported in Southern Nevada, $17.2 million was paid out in total salaries and wages, and one in five attendees stayed in Las Vegas for at least five days.
"During the build up to UFC 229, I said it was going to be the biggest event in UFC's history, and now we have all the numbers to prove it," said UFC president Dana White. "Khabib vs. McGregor smashed our records for pay-per-views, social media impressions, and global viewership, and now we know it set records for economic impact here Las Vegas. None of this would have been possible without the support from the Las Vegas community and UFC's loyal fans, the best in sports."
- Ben Askren has his UFC debut lined up with Robbie Lawler at UFC 235 in March from Las Vegas. Askren, a former Bellator and ONE champion, already has his sights set on his second possible fight with the promotion.
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov recently told Submission Radio that Askren "never fight in the UFC. He has to fight in the UFC first of all. He has to show his levels, because I see how someone smash him in ONE FC. Somebody like smashed him in ONE FC. He just signed to the UFC and tried talk."
Just heard what @TeamKhabib said, he will find his levels when he can't get off his back and I am big brothering him. Will fight him@for 165lb title in October/November of this year.
? Ben Askren (@Benaskren) January 26, 2019