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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff Writer
The UFC will return to the City of Lights this summer.
The promotion announced Monday it will be making its return to Paris on Sept. 2 for a Fight Night card at Accor Arena. It will be only the second UFC event ever in France, where the sport was only legalized in 2020.
The first UFC card in the country was last Sept. 3 in Paris, an event headlined by France native and former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane knocking out Tai Tuivasa in one of the best bouts of 2022. UFC Paris in 2022 was a huge success. The attendance was 15,405 for a gate of $3.2 million.
UFC officials spent around a decade, on and off, lobbying and educating lawmakers in France in an effort to get the sport legalized in the country. France has a rich martial arts culture, including high-level athletes in judo and karate.
“France has been hot for a while,” UFC president Dana White said in 2021. “That’s why we’ve spent so much time, energy and money on it.”
No fights have been announced for this year’s card in Paris.