The UFC will officially be going back to Fight Island in late September and will be staying there for five events including UFC 253 and UFC 254.
The UFC is officially heading back to Fight Island. Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported that the promotion will be returning to their bubble on Yas Island in the country of Abu Dhabi for five consecutive events. The last trip to Fight Island was a rousing success and this run is expected to be even bigger with two pay-per-view events and several high profile match-ups over the course of the month.
UFC will return to Yas Island, Abu Dhabi for five events, beginning with UFC 253 on Sept. 26 and culminating with UFC 254 on Oct. 24, sources confirmed to @bokamotoESPN. pic.twitter.com/ps7vpIO6ij
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 5, 2020
Earlier this Spring, UFC President Dana White planted the idea of an island battleground akin to Enter the Dragon in the minds of the public when he said that the company had secured an island to host fights for the athletes that were unable to travel into the United States. The end result looked nothing like the fantasies that had been concocted, but it did not stop the public from tuning in by the thousands to the inaugural event in July. Three more events followed, including the crowning of a new flyweight champion. Before the planes had taken off from Yas Island, there were questions about when the UFC would make their return.
Notably, the UFC will have two of their most anticipated events of the year during this upcoming stretch. It will begin with UFC 253 on September 26 that will feature a double-header with the middleweight title clash between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa and the light-heavyweight battle between Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz for the vacant title. The trip to Fight Island will end with UFC 254 on October 24 that will feature lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov returning to face interim champion Justin Gaethje. Three more events with the following headliners will also take place: Holly Holm vs Irene Aldana, Marlon Moraes vs Corey Sandhagen, and Brian Ortega vs “The Korean Zombie”.
