For the first time in the history of the UFC, the organization will head to New Zealand for a fight night card and it will be headlined by a middleweight bout as Nate Marquardt meets James Te-Huna.
UFC officials announced the fight card on Monday.
The event will come from Auckland’s Vector Arena on Saturday, June 28 and the event will be shown on UFC Fight Pass.
Marquardt (32-12-2) is returning to the middleweight division after losing three straight fights in the welterweight division. His last two defeats have come by knockout in the first round and the most recent one came at UFC 166 in October against Hector Lombard.
After losing back to back fights in the light heavyweight division, Te-Huna (16-7) is dropping down to the middleweight division and will be looking for his first victory since early 2013. He is originally from Darfield, New Zealand and this will mark his first fight to take place in his home country.
“We are very excited about the UFC’s debut event in New Zealand,” said UFC® Managing Director New Zealand, Australia and Canada Tom Wright. “This country has a proud and successful combat sports history and certainly punches above its weight with representation in the UFC.
“We’re coming with a card featuring some of the greatest international and local fighters in mixed martial arts. Kiwis love their sport, and we have a great fan base already in New Zealand with mixed martial arts becoming increasingly popular.”
More details on this event including more fight bookings will be announced by the UFC over the coming weeks.