UFC returns to Abu Dhabi with a card headlined by Magomed Ankalaev and Bogdan Guskov, thirteen bouts announced and an absence impossible to ignore: there is not a single women's fight in the entire event.
The problem is not that a specific evening ends without female representation due to a sporting coincidence. The billboards change, injuries appear and it is not always possible to maintain an exact balance. The worrying thing is that, when UFC travels to certain markets in the Middle East, the disappearance of women is repeated too often to be treated as a simple coincidence.
At this point, a company that sells MMA as a global sport shouldn't accommodate its product to environments where the presence of a woman competing can still be considered awkward. If female fighters are on the roster year-round, generating audiences, contesting championships, and helping build the business, they should also have space when the company lands in its most lucrative markets.
Criticism should be directed at both the social constraints of those countries and the UFC itself. It is easy to boast of equality when the event is held in Las Vegas, London or New York. True commitment is demonstrated when maintaining that equality can complicate a trade negotiation.
Not all events held in the Middle East have excluded women. Abu Dhabi has already hosted women's bouts and even a championship fight. Saudi Arabia also ended up allowing women to participate after initially hosting an all-male card. Therefore, there is no blanket ban that makes it impossible to schedule them.
Precisely for this reason it is even more difficult to justify an evening of thirteen confrontations made up exclusively of men.
The religion of millions of people cannot be reduced to a single reading or used to collectively single out an entire population. However, it is legitimate to criticize deeply conservative political, legal and social structures that continue to impose different limits on men and women. When these rules condition who can appear at an international sporting event, they cease to be a private matter and come to deserve public scrutiny.
UFC Abu Dhabi will have sporting appeal. Magomed Ankalaev will return in the main bout against Bogdan Guskov, who accepted the fight with a narrow margin after Khalil Rountree Jr.'s withdrawal due to injury.
Ankalaev returns after losing the light heavyweight championship to Alex Pereira. He remains one of the most complete fighters at 205 pounds, with a sambo base, good defensive fighting and a ability to control distance that allows him to win fights without taking unnecessary risks. His goal will be to prove that the loss has not closed his path back to the belt.
Guskov arrives at the biggest opportunity of his career. His punching power always keeps him alive and the short preparation time can make him a particularly aggressive opponent during the first rounds. On paper, Ankalaev starts with more tools and experience at the highest level, but accepting such a confrontation on such short notice shows that Guskov understands perfectly what he can win.
In the co-main event, Steve Erceg will face Ramazan Temirov at flyweight. Erceg will try to regain stability after a stage marked by high-level matchups, while Temirov arrives with a long winning streak and the possibility of entering fully into the conversation of the division.
Islam Dulatov will face Wellington Turman in welterweight. Dulatov represents one of the most striking profiles on the card due to his power and ability to finish, while Turman will face the challenge of slowing his progression after a long period of inactivity.
There will also be a duel between two undefeated players when Damian Rzepecki debuts against Magomed Zaynukov at lightweight. It's an especially interesting fight because it forces one of the two to abandon his undefeated status in his first appearance inside the octagon.
Rizvan Kuniev and Tyrell Fortune will star in a clash of heavyweights with immediate significance for a division in need of new contenders. Both have experience outside of UFC and know that a convincing win can greatly accelerate their rise.
The main card is completed with Abubakar Vagaev facing Saygid Izagakhmaev at welterweight. The two arrive with extensive professional experience and a style built around pressure, fight and control, so the confrontation can become a tactical battle of enormous attrition.
The event brings together recognizable names, interesting debuts, undefeated fighters and several fights with real sporting consequences. No one disputes that he can offer a good night of MMA.
But a competitive card is still criticizable for being well matched.
UFC has three women's divisions, dozens of contracted fighters and enough talent to include at least one women's match without reducing the level of the event. The complete absence sends an uncomfortable message: that equality within the company seems negotiable when certain economic and cultural agreements come into play.
Women don't need to occupy exactly half of each card to prove their importance. Nor is it about artificially introducing fights just to meet a quota. It's about not accepting as normal that they disappear completely when UFC visit certain territories.
The company has been participating in the sports transformation of the Middle East for years. Its events generate tourism, project an international image and are part of strategies with which these countries try to present themselves as modern centers of world entertainment.
That modernity can't just be about building stadiums, hiring stars, and paying big deals. It should also be reflected in who has the right to compete inside them.
Programming women alone will not solve the existing inequalities in the region. But excluding them, or allowing them to disappear silently from the billboards, contributes to normalizing a model that should already be outdated.
UFC Abu Dhabi will offer an important night for Ankalaev, Guskov and several fighters looking to break through. At the same time, it will be another missed opportunity to show that the global character of the company goes beyond money and borders.
In 2026, a card of thirteen fights without a single woman should not go unnoticed. Even less so in a sport that has been boasting for years of having made its champions some of the most important figures in its history.