UFC Fight Island is just days away from hosting one of the biggest cards of 2020.
In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism have worked alongside the UFC to create ‘Fight Island’ – an innovative solution to hosting global sporting events during this unprecedented period.
And the first steps towards making the event a reality were taken after 11km of Yas Island was locked off to the public to form a ‘safe zone’ for international guests and the Abu Dhabi community.
All Abud Dhabi-based event staff were locked in a 14-day hotel room quarantine from June 19 onwards and were required to return three negative coronavirus tests in order to move around the area.
During this fortnight of isolation, a crew of 740 employees have completed the venue and competition area. All four events on Fight Island will take place at ‘Flash Forum’; a multi-purpose indoor venue.
Featuring ‘mist tunnels’ on entry to the venue, which sanitises everyone entering and sanitation stations, the removal of communal venues and the insistence on masks being worn at all times will help reduce spread of bacteria.
The octagon itself will be sanitised between all fights and subjected to deep cleaning every evening, while an octagon has also been constructed at Yas Beach for the enjoyment of the fighters.
In total, more than 2,500 people will be housed in the 11km ‘safe zone’ to ensure the safe return of the UFC in the United Arab Emirates.
“Over the past two weeks, we’ve been very busy building a safe and secure zone to bring UFC back to Abu Dhabi and, in turn, kick-start international sport and entertainment events again,” said HE Ali Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi. ”
The area of the ‘safe zone’ aims to ensure we can provide a secure environment to host elite sport, but also protect our wider Abu Dhabi community.
“This event is important to us for many reasons as it allows us to begin the process of bringing back sports and tourism to Abu Dhabi.
“It signals our readiness to once again host international events and provides us with a learning opportunity to improve and adapt, and efficiently prepare for the scheduled events ahead of us this year.
“I would like to also extend my gratitude to the 1,678 Abu Dhabi event staff who have spent 14 days in hotel room isolation as part of our safety protocol.
“Their passion and commitment to this event represents our eagerness as a community to bring our much-loved events and tourists back to Abu Dhabi, safely and securely.”
Welterweight contender Gilbert Burns contracted COVID-19 before even reaching Fight Island, meaning Jorge Masvidal has now filled his spot in the main event of UFC 251 on Saturday night against Kamaru Usman.
With just seven days’ notice, Masvidal will now head to the ‘safe zone’ on Fight Island to hopefully start what will be a memorable month of fights on the Island.
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