Ahead of UFC’s second London card this year in the O2 Arena, we take a look at the illustrious venue’s capacity, and history – is it bigger than the Madison Square Garden
The UFC is all set to return to action for the second time this year in the UK, after a massive blockbuster event earlier this year. The O2 Arena was electrifying and buzzing back in March, with UFC London 2022 arguably being the biggest night in UFC history. A total of 12 bouts took place in the English capital and every fight had the British crowds roaring with approval. With 17,081 fans in attendance, UFC London made history by becoming the highest-grossing single sporting event at the O2 Arena. UFC President Dana White had promised that they’d return before the end of this year owing to this grand success, and the UFC head honcho stayed true to his words.
The event was originally scheduled to be co-headlined by a middleweight bout between Darren Till and Jack Hermansson. Till unfortunately pulled out of the fight, adding to his long last woe and absence from the octagon. Crowd favorite Tom Aspinall is all set to headline the second back-to-back London event, this time against top-ranked heavyweight fighter Curtis Blaydes.
The co-main event will be a clash between middleweight contenders Jack Hermansson and Chris Curtis.
The card also features a fight between Paddy Pimblett and Jordan Leavitt- the fight that everyone will be tuning into watch, the people’s main event. A first degree black belt in jiu-jitsu, Pimblett has taken the UFC world by storm, and made his mark in only two fights for the organization. A professional since 2012, Pimblett has a record of 18 wins and 3 losses in his Pro-MMA career.
O2 Arena Capacity and history compared to Madison Square Garden
The O2 Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the second-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom, behind the Manchester Arena, and in 2008 was the world’s busiest music arena
The O2 Arena has a capacity of 20,000, while the Madison Square Garden in New York can hold up to 20,789 seats for a boxing bouts. This means that the Madison Square Garden is bigger than the O2 Arena.
Despite being open for only 200 days per year (roughly seven months), the venue sold over 1.2 million tickets in 2007, making it the third most popular venue in the world for concerts and family shows, narrowly behind the Manchester Arena (1.25 million) and Madison Square Garden in New York City (1.23 million).
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