Editor’s note: This article was written by Adam Stern and first appeared in Sports Business Journal, the industry’s leading source of sports business news, events and data.

Move over, Las Vegas. Later, London. Awash with cash that is being spent to revamp economies and images, the Middle East — and Saudi Arabia in particular — is emerging as a, if not the, new global hub of combat sports.

The trend comes amid a wave of investment into fighting sports by entities in the Middle East, as countries and other figures vie for soft power and new tourism opportunities. Saudi Arabia scored its most high-profile goal in late October when it was awarded the 2034 FIFA World Cup, but the kingdom is also getting deeply involved in fighting, WWE and motorsports.

Boxing may have been the start of what some human rights groups refer to as “sportwashing,” or spending money to improve reputations through sports, when Saudi Arabia staged its first heavyweight fight in 2019 between Anthony Joshua of England and Andy Ruiz Jr. of the U.S., billed as the “Clash On The Dunes.”

But in 2023, the pattern has accelerated significantly. Through its SRJ (pronounced Surge) Sports Investments subsidiary, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund this past summer invested nine figures into the Professional Fighters League. That cash infusion made it possible for the PFL to acquire Bellator, a deal announced last week that will make PFL a more legitimate competitor with Ultimate Fighting Championship.

As for UFC, it recently announced plans to go to Saudi Arabia for the first time next March, in a move set up by TKO Group Executive Chairman Vince McMahon, as SBJ first reported. WWE has been going to the kingdom since 2014.

In a bid to grow the prestige and tourism of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority had a heavyweight boxing match with Tyson Fury and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou kick off the multimonth Riyadh Season in late October. And the scenario of Saudi Arabia being a bidder for other major boxing matches is becoming an increasingly occurring phenomenon.

“Saudi Arabia is absolutely the new fight capital of the world,” said Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL. “They believe in combat sports, and MMA in particular, as a growth sport globally and regionally within [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]. There’s an opportunity to develop the sport and athletes at each stage across all combat sports starting with the grassroots and Olympic combat federations, including the Saudi MMA Federation and pro athletes, with an opportunity in the longer term to develop regional and global champions. It really starts with a vision and understanding MMA and combat sports overall, but there’s a real opportunity for KSA to be at the forefront of MMA globally, as well as regionally, at an athlete level and from an overall business standpoint.”

Because the kingdoms and sheikhdoms of the Middle East have such deep pockets, fighters looking to maximize their income in the dangerous sports have a big incentive to accept offers from the region. Ngannou, the former UFC fighter, used to fight for what he said at times could be as low as mid-six figures in UFC bouts. But in his fight versus Fury, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion of the world, Ngannou made “easily in the eight figures,” or more than $10 million, his agent, Marquel Martin, confirmed to SBJ.

Fury is set to fight again in Saudi Arabia early next year for the title of undisputed heavyweight champion versus Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk also fought Joshua in 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in a bout dubbed the “Rage on the Red Sea.” Reports at the time pegged both boxers making an eye-popping $40 million each for participating. The Ngannou-Fury fight last month featured elaborate production elements such as a pre-fight concert from rapper Lil Baby and a ring that was hydraulically lifted from below ground level.

In December, Deontay Wilder and Joshua will fight separate opponents as part of another upcoming card in Saudi Arabia.

“I personally love it because it offers the athletes more opportunity and the fans a new experience from a viewing perspective alone,” said Martin, a former CAA executive.

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Though UFC is going to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2024, it’s been going to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for more than a decade. It has hosted 18 events there since 2010 and entered into a formal deal with the Department of Culture and Tourism in 2019. The sheikhdom proved critical to helping UFC stage events during the pandemic, and it’s helped UFC get connected with entities in China, UFC CEO Dana White said.

“I love Abu Dhabi and I’ll be in business with them till the day that I die,” White said. “They’ve been incredible partners since Day No. 1 and yes, I totally get [the trend of the Middle East playing a larger role in combat sports] because these guys get it and they just have unlimited amounts of money.”

In addition to money, the region boasts quality facilities. Fury-Ngannou was held at Kingdom Arena, which opened this year. UFC 294 was held at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena, which opened in 2021.

Saudi Arabia has 314 sponsorships globally, according to a recent report cited by the London Times, a sign of the extent to which it is trying to curry soft power through athletics. SRJ recently named Australian Professional Leagues CEO Danny Townsend to the same position, as the sports investment unit signs further deals in sports. SRJ did not respond to an interview request by press time.

Top Rank Boxing, one of the biggest promoters in the sport, worked on the Fury-Ngannou fight as it helps represent Fury’s business interests in the U.S. Todd DuBoef, president of Top Rank, told SBJ that he thinks it’s too early to say whether the advent of Middle Eastern countries bidding for fights is going to have a major impact on the sport long term.

“I don’t think it’s a new phenomenon because this dates back to 2019 [with Joshua-Ruiz] … they’ve always been around the hoop,” said DuBoef. “We think that if it’s done strategically and in a way that doesn’t dilute the product, and you selectively find the right content that fits to be hosted in the region, it can be a wonderful opportunity for the athlete and all the participants to bring big events [to the Middle East] for a global fan base.”

As Israel’s war against Hamas in recent weeks has shown, the geopolitics of the Middle East can be a careful balancing act for sports properties trying to do business in the region. White announced in early October that he had decided to reverse a flag ban in UFC that was originally implemented not long after Ukraine’s war against Russia started. But that decision was then reversed again, with the ban being put back in place, just weeks later when UFC hosted UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, as the war in Israel and Gaza raged.

Multiple fighters made comments in their post-fight remarks about the situation in Gaza. UFC fighter Michel Pereira walked out with an Israeli flag the week before the flag ban was re-implemented.

Regardless of any geopolitical tensions, the Middle East is set to continue to be a major player in combat sports well into the 2030s. For example, UFC recently extended its deal in Abu Dhabi to keep hosting fights there through at least 2028.

“Everyone is just figuring it out now — we’ve been over there for almost 13 years,” said White. “There’s a lot of folks going over there just looking at relationships in the Middle East as a money grab. It’s never been a money grab for us. Look at how we have built the region there with guys like Khamzat Chimaev, Khabib [Nurmagomedov], Islam [Makhachev] and the list goes on and on. They helped us get through COVID. Now a performance institute is being built there, and Abu Dhabi was amazing in getting us strategic partners in China because they have great relationships over there. And now we have a Chinese world champion.”