Dana White confirms location of UFC Fight Island, drops dates for first four cards

It’s official. As the rumors have suggested for weeks, Dana White’s much-discussed UFC Fight Island is none other than Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking on social media on Tuesday, White confirmed the setting of Fight Island. He also dropped the dates of the first four events to go down on Fight Island: July 11, 15, 18 and 25.

#UFCFightIsland starts July 11, 15, 18 and 25th YAS Island, Abu Dhabi #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/JGLioBhw4c

— danawhite (@danawhite) June 9, 2020

“#UFCFightIsland starts July 11, 15, 18 and 25th YAS Island, Abu Dhabi,” White wrote on Twitter.

While many fans pictured Fight Island as a tropical paradise somewhere in the Caribbean or South Pacific, it’s no surprise that it’s actually Yas Island. The UFC has a partnership with Abu Dhabi, so the infrastructure for the deal was already in place.

The July 11 card that will kick off the UFC’s run on Fight Island will be UFC 251. Generally, this early July card would occur at the climax of International Fight Week in Las Vegas. That obviously isn’t possible this year, but all signs point to White and the UFC stacking the card to brim nonetheless.

According to recent reports, UFC 251 on Fight Island could feature a whopping three title fights: a welterweight showdown between champ Kamaru Usman and challenger Gilbert Burns, a featherweight rematch between champ Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Max Holloway, and a bantamweight collision between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo, who will battle for the division’s vacant throne. The Usman vs. Burns fight will headline, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns will headline UFC 251 on July 11. https://t.co/b9Rs2zXdpM

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 9, 2020

What do you think of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi as the setting for Dana White’s Fight Island? Do you think the UFC boss can pull these events off without a hitch?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.