So, UFC 249 is officially gone; however, Dana White’s “Fight Island” is still moving forward.
Even before the pay-per-view that was set to be headlined with a UFC Interim Lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson was scrapped, reports had surfaced that the UFC President had purchased an island to hold international fights that were axed due to the coronavirus.
White confirmed the news himself, though he’s remained hushed over the exact location of “Fight Island”. The 50-year-old claims that the camp is being set up and will serve as a training ground for fighters and venue for events (Transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie):
“That’s why I’m telling all my guys not to worry because ‘Fight Island’ is gonna happen,” White told ESPN. “All the infrastructure is being built right now and getting put in place. As we get closer to that, then I’ll start figuring out booking fights, getting guys ready. Plus, I can ship guys over there earlier, and they can start training over there, on the island.
“So, once that’s all in place – we’re looking at like a month – I’ll have that all put together, and guys can start training and can go there. I’m sure people are gonna be ready to get out of their houses in another month and go to an island somewhere and train.”
Thus far, several fights have been made official in May such as a heavyweight bout between Walt Harris vs. Alistair Overeem. Though White still has to go through ESPN officials, the UFC President sounds extremely confident that he’ll be able to throw out events very soon.
“We will be the first sport back,” he stated. “‘Fight Island’ is real. It’s a real thing. The infrastructure is being built right now and that’s really going to happen. It will be on ESPN.”