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Dana White: UFC 'Going to Knock Out 3 or 4 Fights' at Fight Island in June
May 22, 2020
UFC President Dana White continues to hype his plan to host events on an undisclosed island.
On Friday, White reiterated that not only is Fight Island real, but he's expecting to host multiple cards there next month once it's up and running.
"Right now, we're looking at June and we're literally going to knock out three or four fights there in a month," White said on ESPN (h/t MMA Fighting's Damon Martin). "I'm going to stay on the island for a month. I'm going to go stay there. I'll probably be there the whole month of July.”
White says he's building both an arena to host fights as well as a separate training center for his athletes.
There are still many unknowns regarding White's plan—beginning with the location—and it remains a question of just which fighters will make the trip to get a spot on the cards. The idea behind the island plan was to provide a destination international athletes could travel to rather than trying to make it back into the United States.
White does have one big matchup which he's hoping will take place on the island: the impending lightweight unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.
It's unclear whether or not it's possible to get both fighters ready by next month.
Nurmagomedov has been sheltering in place in his native Russia but has faced personal challenges with his father and former trainer, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, recently placed in a medically induced coma after testing positive for COVID-19.
The elder Nurmagomedov was moved to Moscow to continue receiving treatment.
Gaethje would be working off a quick turnaround should a June matchup with Nurmagomedov manifest. His UFC 249 bout against Tony Ferguson took place May 9, with Gaethje earning a fifth-round TKO.
According to Martin, UFC has a proposed card for July 11 featuring a flyweight bout between Paige VanZant and Amanda Ribas that could end up taking place on Fight Island.