Dana White Announces UFC Fight Island Will Debut on July 11 Amid Pandemic
UFC president Dana White announced Friday the company's new "Fight Island" will debut July 11 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
White told TMZ Sports he's concerned hype surrounding the launch of the special venue could exceed what the company can deliver, though.
"The fantasy of Fight Island, I'm very worried it will eclipse the reality of Fight Island," he said. "The fighters are not going to walk out lined up with tiki torches on the side. I will not be sitting in a big throne overseeing the Octagon and watching the fight."
White explained the island has been prepared as a professional environment and, aside from a beach-side Octagon, will be business as usual for fighters.
"We actually have an arena. We built a little arena there that's very, very cool," he told TMZ. "... The fighters will have their own private places to train. And, there will be an Octagon on the beach too."
UFC 252 was originally scheduled to take place July 11 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The promotion is seemingly preparing for a series of events on Fight Island. ESPN's Brett Okamoto reported Wednesday a middleweight fight between Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson is expected to take place at the venue July 18.
White didn't immediately announce the card for the July 11 event.
UFC has four events scheduled for June starting with UFC 250 on Saturday night with Amanda Nunes defending her women's featherweight title against Felicia Spencer in the main event.
The next three cards will be held at the promotion's APEX facility in Nevada.
