The possibility of Perth hosting a UFC event is ever more likely after the Western Australian government moved to overturn its ban on the enclosures used by the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion.
MMA is legal in WA but the state government introduced a ban on “cages” – octagonal soft mesh fenced enclosures – in 2013 under former premier Colin Barnett, who also described the sport as gladiatorial and violent.
Since then, MMA athletes have been forced to fight in boxing rings, but safety fears – centred on participants falling through the gaps between ropes and out of ring – have prompted a rethink.
“It’s a safety issue. Now, the consequence of that is we expect UFC will come to Perth, that may well be announced in the future,” WA’s incumbent premier Mark McGowan said on Wednesday.
McGowan said he had previously held talks with the UFC and they are likely to be resurrected if the ban is overturned.
“I haven’t spoken to them for quite some time, but obviously Western Australia is an environment where a lot of people like the sport and haven’t had the opportunity of seeing it,” he said.
“A lot of people out there like it, a lot of people don’t like it. It’s one of those issues where we just want to make it safe and if a UFC event comes to Perth, well, then that’s a tourism-creating consequence.”
The changes would bring WA into line with the rest of Australia and prevent the sport from being driven underground, the Minister for Sport and Recreation, Mick Murray, said.
Murray said fighters should undergo strict health checks before and after entering the ring.
