Sports and COVID-19: UFC, White Pull Off Fight Island Event From Abu Dhabi
By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
Dana White had some fun promoting Fight Island, but the UFC president’s shtick could not hide the fact that UFC’s current coronavirus pandemic home overseas in Abu Dhabi was a vital logistical platform for the Las Vegas-based promotion’s top fighters from around the world.
Saturday’s UFC 251 was headlined by three championship fights, with welterweight champ Kamaru Usman keeping his belt with a dominating win over challenger Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, who stepped in to fight Usman with less than a week’s notice after the original fighter, Gilbert Burns, tested positive for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. Bruce Buffer shouted the scores from a brand new octagon at the makeshift Abu Dhabi venue: 50-45, 50-45, 49-46.
UFC has grown into a powerful global brand from its Las Vegas base. So, when a worldwide pandemic shut down most sports in March, White remained steadfast that the fight show must go on. It began in Jacksonville wit UFC 249 and more than 700,000 pay-per-view buys and White was hopeful of even more Saturday with a card topped with a trio of title cage matches.
White toyed with the media three months ago when he said he secured an island to host the promotion’s international fights.
Fight Island would be Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, more than 8,200 miles from the UFC’s headquarters off the 215 beltway in the southwest Las Vegas valleyt.
“Fight Island is real. It’s a real thing. It’s really happening,” White was heard saying in the promotion’s pre-fight video. UFC has held international events for over 20 years now. The COVID-19 bubble in Abu Dhabi was unique for many reasons. For starters, while fans sat comfortably at home Saturday taking in the fights, athletes entered the cage as early as 5 a.m. United Arab Emirates time.
The 10-mile radius secured by the promotion has been called “The Safety Zone” and is home to more than 12 restaurants, training facilities and of course a Mortal Kombat style Octagon on the beach. That cage on the beach that was tweeted out by UFC and White was a fun prop for show and photo opportunities. In 100 plus degree heat and 90% humidity, the mat of an Octagon on a Yas Island beach is more like molten lava.
In all, 40 bouts will be held on Fight Island over the course of 35 days, with three more dates set for July 15, 18, amd 25. Those fights will cost the promotion thousands of dollars in COVID-19 tests.
Upwards of 8,000 tests have already been administered, according to Mohammad Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Depart of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi. Everyone who was on the island prior to the arrival of UFC spent 14 days in quarantine in a hotel and received three tests after that. As guests and residents of Yas Island exited the hotel bubble, they were tested every 72 hours. It’s expected that 11,912 days of quarantine will be spent inside The Safety Zone.
“Abu Dhabi is literally the safest place in the world. About 2.4 million people [who live there] have been tested,” White claimed this week.
UFC has dispatched a virtual army of approximately 630 staff and athletes using 22 planes chartered from four cities around the globe including Las Vegas, London, San Paolo, and Moscow.
Just in case there are any unforeseen issues, police stations have been set-up to ensure no unauthorized visitors make it in or out. White is content on his new home on Fight Island. “I’ve been in business with Abu Dhabi for over a decade and everything is perfect.”
Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter and Instagram. Like LVSportsBiz.com on Facebook.
