Las Vegas has been home to the biggest fights across sporting disciplines such as boxing and MMA, and it seems Sin City is being able to hang on to that tag. Despite the rise of other locations, such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Middle East, becoming more popular for big-time fighting events, the city known as the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’ continues to remain supreme.
While many will typically associate the bright lights, the glitz, and the glamour of Las Vegas with brick-and-mortar casinos where they are able to play games that can be found and experienced on an online casino site, the destination has also been renowned around the world for its shows. The world’s biggest musicians continually put on performances, as do the biggest magicians.
Fight fans have been able to continually flock to The Strip in Nevada and witness the biggest names to enter a ring or cage regularly when visiting the city. There is a lot of history that the location offers regarding the sporting events that take place; further highlighting its moniker of being the place for entertainment.
Las Vegas’ affinity with boxing
Boxing and MMA events such as those that take place under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand are not new to Las Vegas. In fact, they have been held regularly in Sin City since the early 1900s. Many combat sports were considered illegal across the US, but Nevada gave them a place to be enjoyed, thus boosting their popularity in the process.
The Strip has played host to some of the biggest fights in history, with many iconic bouts between the biggest foes having taken place here. In 1965, Muhammed Ali and Sonny Liston went against each other in the ring, while George Foreman and Joe Fraizer touched gloves in 1973. Other fighters such as Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather Jr, and many others have made Las Vegas their fight home.
The same has been experienced across the UFC. While the Middle East has been home to some of the most recent events to be held, there have been numerous shows to have been held in Las Vegas. These have included fights that have involved Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedev, and Israel Adesanya, among many others.
How has Las Vegas continued to keep the Middle East at bay?
Despite the rapid rise of the Middle East and its reputation as a potential new home to fighting, Las Vegas does manage to keep the region at bay and maintain its status. It could be argued that there are a few reasons why this is the case.
Sin City is synonymous with combat sports because of its history. Many would find it difficult to move events away from the location, even with all the money that continues to be thrown at promotions to get them to hold their events.
The fan appeal is still potentially greater in the US than it is in the Middle East now. More people are interested in attending the events while they are in Sin City, with the sport perhaps still trying to improve its reputation in a conservative region like the Middle East. Undoubtedly, it is growing, but the world-class venues used on The Strip are continually sold out.
As such, it would be very difficult to see Las Vegas be replaced as the ‘fight capital of the world’ by any other location.