The UFC’s stint on Fight Island is over. For the month of July, the MMA powerhouse set up shop on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Dubbing it “Fight Island,” the promotion put on four shows — the UFC 251 PPV, and three Fight Night events. The final of those was Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 3, a rather stacked card by most measures.
It was a serviceable enough solution to getting international fighters back to work during the coronavirus pandemic. With an added layer of health and safety precautions, the shows proved, if nothing else, that professional sports can function during the pandemic, if enough attention to detail is paid.
Fight Island even produced a few truly great fights. But on the final card of the four-fight stint there, all eyes were on the return of former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. His first fight back since losing his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya last year came against Darren Till. Till, like Whittaker had in the past, was looking to find new life up a weight class at 185lbs.
The pair topped the UFC Fight Island 3 card, and had the potential to at least in part sort out the next contender in the weight class.
Following Saturday’s event, tune in for the UFC Fight Island 3 post-fight press conference. The live stream can be found above.
