UFC's Dana White Says Khabib vs. Justin Gaethje 'Will Be on Fight Island'

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje's battle for supremacy in UFC's lightweight division will be staged on "Fight Island," according to UFC President Dana White.

"I don't know if it will be the first one, but it will be on Fight Island, unless miraculously the world comes back together faster than I think it's gonna," White said on ESPN 1000 Chicago (via ESPN.com). "Hopefully it will be done by mid-June, and I could put on a fight that weekend that it's done or end of June."

In a profanity-laden series of tweets Monday (note: language NSFW), Conor McGregor made the hard sell on challenging Gaethje, who defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 last Saturday to become the interim lightweight champion:

Khabib vs. Gaethje is the more logical next step, given Gaethje filled in for Nurmagomedov at UFC 249 when the unbeaten star was unable to travel to the United States for the event.

UFC staged that pay-per-view at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, with two more shows to come Wednesday and Saturday.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic limits the company's options in terms of venues, Jacksonville won't serve as the main hub in the same way WWE has utilized its Performance Center in Orlando for live programming.

White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto on April 9 that "Fight Island is real," alluding to a plan where UFC would set up shop in an island setting and make that its home for events:

He elaborated more about the plan with Okamoto on April 25:

Khabib vs. Gaethje would be a good way to coronate the concept, though a June date would require a quick turnaround time for Gaethje. Nurmagomedov also told ESPN's Marc Raimondi he'd need a minimum of 45 days to properly train once Ramadan ends on May 23.