The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced a strategic partnership with the Singapore Sports Hub and the Singapore Tourism Board.

The agreement, which will see the MMA series stage annual events at the Singapore Indoor Stadium until at least 2020, is the first multi-year live event deal for the organisation in the Asia-Pacific region. It comes after the UFC held successful events in Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore in 2017.

The UFC Fight Night Singapore event in 2017 which saw Holly Holm take on Bethe Correia attracted 8,400 fans last June.

The UFC said its first UFC Fight Night Singapore event in 2018 will take place on 23rd June, with welterweight veteran Donald Cerrone set to headline, taking on British fighter Leon Edwards.

Light heavyweight knockout specialist Ovince Saint Preux will also be on the card, as the American takes on Australian prospect Tyson Pedro.

Several Asian fighters will also compete, including Japan’s Naoki Inoue and Shinsho Anzai, China’s Yan Xiaonan and Filipino flyweight Jenel Lausa.

Kevin Chang, vice president of the UFC Asia Pacific, said, “After evaluating the success of our events last year, the appetite from our partners and rapidly growing MMA fan base, we feel it is the right time to make the Lion City a regular, annual stop on our live events calendar. Singapore is home to Southeast Asia’s biggest and most talked-about events and remains a key market for us. We look forward to building on our growth from 2017, as we bring fans in this region even closer to world class MMA.”