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Finally, Philadelphia is Getting a Big UFC Event
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Governor Shapiro, who is everywhere, was on Pat McAfee’s show Tuesday to reveal that UFC 330 is coming to Philadelphia:
It’s been a long time.
The last UFC event in South Philly was Edson Barboza vs. Justin Gaethje, a 2019 Fight Night won by the current interim lightweight champ.
The only numbered events to ever take place here were UFC 133 and UFC 101, which were held in 2011 and 2009, respectively. Rashad Evans beat Tito Ortiz at 133 and B.J. Penn defeated Kenny Florian in the main event at 101.
Philadelphia currently has some quality fighters in the UFC ranks, so a local visit was overdue. We’ve got Sean Brady, a ranked welterweight scheduled to fight Joaquin Buckley at UFC 328 next month. There’s Joe Pyfer, who just scored a big win against Israel Adesanya a few weeks ago, and Kyle Daukaus, who is fighting Penn State product Bo Nickal on the UFC White House card. It would be nice if we could get guys like Bassil Hafez and Andre Petroski and Pat Sabatini on the card as well. Load it up with Philly guys. Maybe we can coax Bill Algeo out of retirement with a pair of ceremonial Crocs.
The recent BKFC events at Xfinity have done really well, so there’s no doubt in my mind a UFC card with a bunch of local fighters will also draw a lot of interest.
This summer is gonna be so sick. MLB All-Star Game, World Cup, PGA Championship, UFC 330, etc. Philly is the center of the universe!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com