UFC fights on a private island apparently aren’t that far away from becoming reality.
During an interview with TMZ Sports, UFC president Dana White said he is “a day or two away” from closing a deal for a private island that he can hold fights on amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In such a scenario, fighters would come to the island on private flights where they would be much more isolated than they would be if the fights were held in cities or other locations.
While White said he is on the verge of securing the private island, it would be months before the actual fights could take place at that location.
UFC’s next event is April 18, and White said he has a secret location for UFC 249 on that date that will hold fights every week for the next two months before the potential move to the island. Fighters and personnel will be thoroughly tested by a medical team before entering the facility.
UFC announced the full card for the April 18 event, and it includes a showdown between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
That was initially supposed to be a clash between Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov, but the latter is in Russia and unable to leave because of travel restrictions in place during the pandemic.
“I understand everything and I’m definitely upset more than you to cancel the fight, probably like all others, I had many plans after the fight, but I can’t control it all,” Nurmagomedov said in an Instagram post.
That he was in Russia when the travel restrictions were put in place drew criticism from Ferguson and Conor McGregor, but White said in the interview with TMZ that people should stop blaming Nurmagomedov since much of the situation was out of his control.
Via Bleacher Report