If you just got used to viewing fights in the smaller, 25-foot Octagon, get ready to return to normalcy again. The highly-anticipated Fight Island events finally take place later this month on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island starting with the UFC 251 pay-per-view on July 11.
And according to UFC chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein (via Yahoo), fights will be staged in a 30-foot Octagon which is what was usually used before the COVID-19 pandemic.
With events recently taking place at the Apex facility in Las Vegas which featured the 25-foot Octagon, there was much debate as to whether a smaller Octagon led to more exciting contests and finishes given the more limited space.
However, UFC president Dana White never bought into that idea.
Fight Island Could Have VIP Guests
Although the Fight Island events will be closed to the public, there could be some VIP fans in attendance according to Epstein.
If that decision is made, there will be less than two dozen guests according to him.
“Epstein said there is a possibility of a small number of VIP fans who could attend but the event will not be open to the public and in most respects, will look like the shows the UFC produced at Apex on its campus in Las Vegas. If the decision is made to invite VIPs, it would be less than two dozen people.”
White also recently shared some footage of the Fight Island infrastructure and testing procedures.
Fight Island gets kicked off with three title fights at UFC 251 including a welterweight showdown between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns in the headliner; a featherweight title rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway; and a clash between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight strap.
