In a world full of uncertainty, one thing seems to remain clear; Dana White means BUSINESS. While most of the population is worried about lockdowns and maintaining social distance, this man is worried about title defenses and takedowns.
Construction of the world’s first “Fight Island” is underway and no one even knows what Dana White is really up to yet. The known details, however, are enough to get even the most casual of MMA fans to paint “JUST BLEED” on their chest.
Dana White has confirmed in an interview with one of ESPN’s MMA journalists, Brett Okamoto, that Fight Island (patent pending), “should be up and running by June”. He hopes the island can be home to the UFC’s international fights, as it will be easier to bring overseas fighters to the island than to the states. White adds, “ We really are putting an Octagon on the beach. There’s going to be training facilities there for people.”
Now just because Dana will be able to get away from a national government and won’t have to follow a mandated set of guidelines doesn’t mean he will ignore them. The UFC plans to have the people staying on Fight Island follow quarantining measures before going back home. Dana White said, “I’m going over there. I’m probably going to have to quarantine for two weeks before I come home.”
Amazingly, all seems set for Fight Island right? Beaches, a gym, an oceanside octagon. A million different business ventures seem to be on the horizon for the UFC in these rough times.
Seeing as the company won’t have to pay a venue and can put on their own events, on their own time, the MMA community and I are curious to see what the UFC will do.
In my mind the thought of the UFC putting on a regular type of “minor league” system on this Island gives me goosebumps. Not only does it allow them to give new up and coming talent a platform to display their talent, it will free up space on the UFC cards of today that seem to drown a casual audience.
Much of the future of Fight Island is uncertain. One thing for sure is that Dana White is a mad man, and while sometimes it’s for the wrong reasons, other times he gives us gems like this. For the MMA community this is truly a bright light on what seems like a dark journey.
