Fight Island is a series of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts events held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dana White stated that the events were intended as a workaround for travel restrictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had been preventing some international fighters from entering the United States. White initially referred to the proposed site as a "private island" or "fight island".[1][2]
Until 2021, all Fight Island events were held behind closed doors in the du Forum; a bio-secure bubble was established, which consisted of a "safe zone" comprising hotels, training facilities, the beach, and restaurants.[3] All participants and staff were required to test negative for SARS-CoV-2 multiple times before traveling to or entering the bubble, and individuals entering the arena were required to go through disinfecting "mist tunnels".[4] As the events were closed to the public, they were scheduled for U.S. primetime hours rather than local time, with UFC 251's preliminaries beginning at 2:00 a.m. Gulf Standard Time.[5]
John Oliver suggested on Last Week Tonight that the name "Fight Island" was inspired by a suggestion made by a TMZ reporter one week before the trademark was filed.[6] Shortly after Oliver had suggested various alternative names for the island including "UF-Sea",[7] Zuffa registered "UFSEA" as a trademark.[8]
Beginning with UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar on January 16, 2021, the UFC moved its Fight Island events to Yas Island's newly opened Etihad Arena, capped at 2,000 of its 18,000-seat capacity. They were the first UFC events open to the public since the onset of the pandemic.[9][10][11]
^Steven Marrocco (2020-04-07). "Dana White's COVID-19 plan: Two months of weekly fights at UFC 249 location, a private island, and Joe Rogan". MMAFighting.com. Vox Media. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
^Brett Okamoto (2020-04-07). "UFC's White: Secured private island for fights". ESPN. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
^Robert M. (2021-05-13). "UFC Fight Island: Everything You Need to Know". Way of Martial Arts. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
^Ben Collins (2020-07-10). "UFC 251: 'Beautiful, surreal, insane' - what's Fight Island really like?". BBC Sport.
^Wagenheim, Jeff (2020-06-11). "What we know and don't know about 'Fight Island'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
^Last Week Tonight. HBO. 2020-05-31. Event occurs at 27:05. He only filed for the Fight Island trademark a week after a TMZ reporter suggested to him that he call it that.
^Cassandra Negley (2020-05-18). "John Oliver takes aim at UFC's 'Fight Island'; Dana White calls it 'selective facts'". Yahoo Sports.
^"UFSEA". 2020-05-19. Archived from the original on 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2020-12-14. Serial Number: 88924037, filing Date: May 19, 2020, Owner Name: Zuffa, LLC Owner Address: 6650 South Torrey Pines Drive Las Vegas, NEVADA UNITED STATES 89118
^"Etihad Arena lists official COVID-19 safety measures for fans at January UFC Fight Island shows". MMA Fighting. 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
^Staff (2021-01-07). "Fans are back: UFC will have 'limited' attendance at three-card 'Fight Island' stint at Etihad Arena". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
^Newswire (2021-01-10). "Etihad Arena lists official COVID-19 safety measures for fans at January UFC Fight Island shows". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
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