5 reasons the UFC's partnership with Riyadh Season could work wonders for the promotion

The UFC and Riyadh Season have forged a partnership, starting with Riyadh Season Noche UFC. This is the latest development in Saudi Arabia's expansion into combat sports, with MMA and boxing having fallen under the Middle Eastern giant's reign.

Now, it has secured a deal with the largest and most successful promotion in the MMA space. While new, the partnership will benefit both parties, with Saudi Arabia determined to use the promotion as one of many means to retool its image in the public eye.

Meanwhile, the promotion will enjoy its own boons from the partnership, namely in the financial sense. That, however, is just the beginning.

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#5. It will return pageantry to the forefront of MMA

Before the UFC dominated MMA, PRIDE FC was perched on the sport's mountaintop. Among its differences from the former was its penchant for showmanship. PRIDE FC understood the element of spectacle, with fighters enjoying over-the-top entrances.

Unfortunately, this is absent from the UFC, with Dana White resistant to even his own fighters dancing on the way to the octagon. However, Riyadh Season knows a thing or two about showmanship, and hasn't been shy in showing it with the various boxing events it's hosted.

So, the new partnership could lead to the promotion, at least for its Saudi events, organizing shows with more pageantry, which would draw even more eyes to it.

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#4. The UFC could enjoy even greater mainstream appeal

MMA only recently gained acceptance as a sport, having struggled to break out of the box of a 'niche' sport, which is currently occupied by bare-knuckle boxing. Due to the success of 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and the rise of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, the promotion has found a spot under the mainstream limelight.

Check out the celebrity turnout for Riyadh Season's Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury fight:

Some largely minor celebrities turn up at UFC events, with A-listers generally only making their presence known at McGregor events. Riyadh Season is different, though, having managed to draw global celebrities in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the world's most famous public figure.

The Riyadh Season label and the Saudi government's influence in the celebrity world could lead to even greater mainstream exposure for the promotion, which would benefit its non-McGregor cards.

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#3. It could lead to better fights

The very first UFC Saudi event featured Robert Whittaker, Ikram Aliskerov (who replaced an ill Khamzat Chimaev), Sergei Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov, Kelvin Gastelum, Johnny Walker, Volkan Oezdemir, and Sharabutdin Magomedov. That lineup is worthy of a pay-per-view.

Instead, it was on a Fight Night card, almost certainly because the Saudis would have never tolerated a subpar event featuring no-name fighters with poor records. If this is, in any way, indicative of how Riyadh Season intends to work with the UFC, it will actually be good for the promotion.

Forcing it to book better fights will help its divisions move forward, create stars, and ultimately heighten fan interest in the product in an era when complaints about Apex and Fight Night cards have become commonplace.

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#2. The financial reward

The UFC's partnership with Saudi Arabia isn't for nothing. According to a tweet from renowned MMA journalist Damon Martin, TKO Group Holdings president Mark Shapiro claimed that the new deal for the UFC to return to Saudi Arabia was almost double the $20 million paid for the promotion's June 22 event.

What this indicates is clear: money is the reward. With the financial incentive of working with the Saudis, a Riyadh Season partnership can only prove lucrative as the promotion continues its reign atop the MMA world. How well Riyadh Season Noche UFC does at the Las Vegas Sphere will determine much.

If it leads to the kind of success that the promotion envisions for its first-ever show on the Sphere, a renegotiated deal in the future would almost certainly a bump in the amount of capital the Saudis would be willing to pour into it.

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#1. It can lead to stardom for the promotion's Muslim fighters

The legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov is responsible for the surge in popularity of Muslim MMA fighters. Dagestani wrestling has become the sport's most feared school of grappling, and Islam Makhachev now reigns as the UFC lightweight champion and the new face of Muslim MMA.

An event hosted by Riyadh Season, with its pageantry, celebrity turnout, and mainstream media coverage, would only work wonders for the promotion's Muslim fighters. While Makhachev stands alone as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, there is hope for others.

Umar Nurmagomedov is expected to challenge for the bantamweight title if he maintains his unbeaten record, while Magomed Ankalaev is widely regarded as Alex Pereira's toughest challenge at light heavyweight. If both men become champions, they will draw tremendous attention.

The Saudis will want to cheer for them, and new stars would only help the promotion.