TKO Reports Sold-Out Crowds and Massive Social Numbers from Historic WWE/UFC Doubleheader in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan

TKO Group Holdings has revealed the full scope of its landmark international doubleheader on Saturday, June 28 — a first-of-its-kind same-night pairing of WWE and UFC events held simultaneously in two separate regions.

WWE Night of Champions took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, drawing more than 18,000 fans to a sold-out building. The event was presented alongside local partners at the General Entertainment Authority and featured a record number of brand partners for a WWE event in the region. On the social media front, Night of Champions generated 186.8 million video views across WWE’s main channels, with 74.2 million of those views tied specifically to Sami Zayn’s WWE Championship victory.

Simultaneously, UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Fiziev vs. Torres went down at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan, in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 10,500. Roughly 40 percent of ticket buyers traveled from outside Azerbaijan, with attendees representing 72 countries in total — a striking illustration of the event’s international draw. Rafael Fiziev, a local fan favorite, capped off fight week with a second-round stoppage of Manuel Torres in the lightweight main event. Across UFC’s social platforms, the Baku card produced more than 612.9 million impressions and 297.3 million video views.

TKO CFO Andrew Schleimer framed the doubleheader as further proof of strong demand in the Middle East and surrounding markets, noting that the events came just two weeks after what he described as the unprecedented success of UFC Freedom 250. Schleimer also emphasized TKO’s ongoing commitment to staging live events in the region.

The back-to-back sellouts underscore the growing appetite for premium live sports and entertainment in markets that have become increasingly central to TKO’s global strategy. With both WWE and UFC continuing to forge partnerships with government and private-sector entities worldwide, the June 28 doubleheader looks like a template — not a one-off — for how TKO intends to expand its international footprint going forward.