UFC president Dana White is working to secure a deal to host fights on a private island, which would serve as a venue for UFC fighters, according to TMZ Sports. White plans to fly fighters on private planes to make it to these events as a workaround from the coronavirus pandemic.
This comes on the heels of Major League Baseball trying to start the season in May through a relocation project that will have MLB teams playing in various stadiums in Arizona.
White is currently focused on making sure UFC 249 on April 18 takes place. He claims he has a mystery venue locked up for two months for that event and weekly fights after that, but then he would move the Octagon to the island, where he hopes the promotion can host fights involving big-name international fighters. While the deal isn't yet done, White assured he's close to finishing:
“We're getting the infrastructure put in now so I'm going to start doing the international fights too,” said White. “I won't be able to get international fighters, all of them, into the US, so I have a private island. I'm going to start flying them all into the private island and doing international fights from there. So as of April 18, the UFC is back up and running.”
“We’re going to get the fighters somewhere, and we’re going to bring them to this location. They won’t know where they’re headed to.”@danawhite explains the logistics of how fighters will be transported to the site of #UFC249, as well as the soon-to-be-secured private island. pic.twitter.com/KMPGZ0qc9Q
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 7, 2020
White gathered inspiration from Australia's National Rugby League considering a proposal that would allow the league to house players on a luxury island in an attempt to play its sport on TV as soon as possible. The UFC president ensured all his athletes would be thoroughly tested and 100% healthy before competing in any event, according to CNN.
As for UFC 249, the promotion recently announced the matchups that are set to take place on April 18 in an undisclosed location, headlined by an Interim Lightweight Championship match between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-qTw_DnwjN/?utm_source=ig_embed
The card will also include a rematch between former Women's Strawweight Champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade, who dethroned her in 2019 during UFC 237.
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