UFC returning to Australia in December, Tom Wright angling for title fight in the main event

Mark Kolbe

The UFC will return to Australia for the 4th year in a row, as officials confirmed a December event as well as another Australian edition of The Ultimate Fighter to be aired in 2014.

It's only February but the UFC is already looking ahead to the end of the year as far as where and when they'll be holding events. According to Australia's The Daily Telegraph, the UFC is headed back down under for a December show, likely to air on FX, as well as confirmation of another season of The Ultimate Fighter:

As revealed by the Daily Telegraph this week, the UFC will take the struggling Australian boxing game head-on by scheduling a major card, most likely an FX event, just before Christmas.

Director of UFC Operations in Australia Tom Wright not only confirmed the whisper late last night, but said he would lobby for one of the company’s world champions to put their belt on the line.

Wright also confirmed planning was underway for a second Australian season of The Ultimate Fighter, to be screened in 2014.

The UFC held their first Australian card in February 2010, a PPV headlined by Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. They returned for another February PPV in 2011 when B.J. Penn fought former UFC welterweight Jon Fitch. Their 2012 offerings were both aired on FX, with the December card doubling as the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. United Kingdom. As to accommodate the North American market, cards in Australia air late-night in the US, meaning all of Australia's UFC events are held in local daytime. As for this event, neither a the city nor the arena has been confirmed.

Australia has yet to hold a UFC title fight, and it's way too far in the future to even forecast which possible matchup could headline that card. If UFC officials are looking for an event "just before Christmas", that would likely mean Saturday, December 21st (Sunday, December 22nd in Australia). If true, presumably it'd also be a way to promote their normal year-end PPV set for the following week.