Anyone who ever had any reason to doubt Dana White, president of the UFC, must have had their doubt cleared a long time ago.
He gave us UFC 249, a very controversial event when it seemed very impossible to hold. By that, he kept his promise of making the UFC the first sports to resume in the face of the pandemic.
But he did not stop there. The UFC has held three fights these past three Saturdays at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, all without fans present. That was pretty grand when you consider that the first fight was even scheduled before the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) allowed sports to resume in the state.
Now, White has kept to his words again, this time with the reality of the UFC Fight Island. The president of the UFC first floated the idea about three months ago and vowed to make it happen. The reason behind the island is to allow fights happen in isolation and provide a place for international fight since most fighters would not be able to make it to the United States due to travel restrictions. Dana has revealed details surrounding the concept.
Fight Island would take place on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and would feature four fights, according to White. The first event on the list is UFC 251, which would hold on Saturday, July 11, and the main event of the night would the Welterweight fight Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns. Usman is set to defend his title again after defeating Colby Covington at UFC 245.
The co-main event for the night would be between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Hollaway. The other three fights would hold on July 15, 18, and 25.
Speaking on the island in an interview with ESPN, White assures that it would have everything necessary to ensure that the fights hold smoothly. He said, “We really are putting an Octagon on the beach.
There’s going to be training facilities there for people. There are hotels. And the whole island is going to be built, all the infrastructure is going to be built for the UFC to come do fights there.”
Fans would not be allowed on the island but the event would be available for streaming on a pay-per-view basis.
Written by: Leon Osamor
