Israel Adesanya's UFC attendance record smashed by European MMA promotion set to host epic show at soccer stadium

10/08/2024 02:19 PM

After five years as the biggest selling show in UFC history, Israel Adesanya’s world title win is about to be overtaken by a promotion in Europe.

On October 6, 2019 Robert Whittaker was defeated for his middleweight title against Adesanya at UFC 243 in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, with 57,127 in attendance. The same venue had taken the record four years prior when Ronda Rousey was dethroned by Holly Holm in front of 56,214 at UFC 193.

Now, OKTAGON MMA are bringing their own brand of MMA to Germany, where they will take over Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt. Christian Eckerlin takes on Christian Jungwirth in the main event, and more than 58,000 are expected to attend; the biggest attendance in MMA history outside of Japan.

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Israel Adesanya broke Ronda Rousey’s UFC attendance record in 2019

In 2015, Rousey-mania came to Melbourne as she defended her bantamweight title against former boxing champion Holly Holm. At the time, the champion seemed almost invincible, with some pundits even questioning if she could compete with top male fighters.

However, it all came crashing down with 56,214 watching live at what was then called the Etihad Stadium as Holm viciously knocked her out with a head kick. And even that record was taken from Rousey four years later when Israel Adesanya stopped Robert Whittaker at the newly-named Marvel Stadium.

At the time, the middleweight division was still reeling from Georges St-Pierre stopping Michael Bisping in 2016. His retirement meant that interim champion Whittaker was elevated to undisputed, but he was unable to defend his belt in a rematch with Yoel Romero due to his rival missing weight.

In the meantime, Israel Adesanya’s impressive winning run had come to a peak as he beat Kelvin Gastelum for the interim title. This set up a perfect Australia vs New Zealand main event in Melbourne, which drew in a monstrous crowd.

The promotion managed to squeeze in 913 more fans to draw the new biggest attendance, which has yet to be broken to this day.

UFC not willing to stage any more stadium events

UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly stated his distaste for stadium events since. This has stifled massive record-breakers for the likes of Leon Edwards at Wembley Stadium in England and Conor McGregor at Croke Park in Ireland.

"It's not that I get worried, I don't want to take the experience away from people," he said in a recent interview with Grind City Media. "We've done stadiums before. It's just it's not my favorite thing. I like arenas. Yeah, I really like arenas."

"What I care about every Saturday, whether you stayed home and watched it on TV or you came to the venue and watched it, is that everybody walks away on a Saturday night going, 'God, I'm glad I came to the fights,' or 'This was worth coming to.'

“Or they don't walk out going, 'Well, that sucked. That wasn't a good experience.' That's what I focus on literally every week. No, that's not what I look for, I look for incredible experiences, unique experiences, and things that have never been done before.

“That's what I'm into. I'm not like, 'Oh, I have to do Allegiant Stadium.' I don't have to do Allegiant Stadium. I wanna give fans a great experience every time."

OKTAGON MMA announce they will house 58,000 fans this weekend

However, such an issue does not exist for OKTAGON MMA in Europe, who regularly run massive shows at soccer stadiums around the continent. They have drawn crowds in the tens of thousands countless times, and are considered the biggest promotion in Europe.

Based in the Czech Republic and Slovakia OKTAGON have gone from being considered the largest Czech-Slovak organization to one of Europe’s premiere outlets. They’ve even made strides into the UK and other markets with varying success.

Now, owners Pavol Neruda and Ondrej Novotny bring the show to the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt where Christian Eckerlin faces Christian Jungwirth. The card will also feature a host of top talents from around the European scene.

Patrik Kincl faces Kerim Engizek in the co-main event of an 11-fight card that also features some names American fans may recognise. Daniel Torres, who competed in the 2023 PFL season, will be competing, as will his fellow ex-PFL competitor Will Fleury.

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