Out of the handful of times that it rains in a desert, God just had to choose the same day as UFC 112. This wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for that guy in the UFC boardroom that convinced Dana White to hold UFC’s first event in Abu Dhabi, without a roof. In fact, the entire thing is held outside which just leads to a laundry list of things that could potentially go wrong (and 90% of them involve sand). Jerry Jones says he built the old Cowboys Stadium without a roof so that God could see his favorite team play. Apparently, Abu Dhabi built the new UFC arena without a roof so that Allah can watch his favorite fighter brawl. In an interview with Sportsnet.ca (via BloodyElbow), Dana White said that if it does rain, there is no back-up plan.
“If it starts raining and the wind starts blowing … right now there’s no Plan B.”
“The high possibility of rain happening…it’s not gonna happen. It’s not gonna rain there; we know it’s not gonna happen. It would have to be crazy for it to rain in Abu Dhabi.”
“Wind could be a factor. It’s very dusty and sandy there. I’m worried about the wind.”
Since you probably don’t know where to look up the weekend forecast of Abu Dhabi, we’ve done it for you. The chance of rain has now been reduced to 20%.
Saturday Night
Chance of Rain. Scattered Clouds. Low: 71 °F . Wind SW 13 mph . 20% chance of precipitation (trace amounts). Heat Index: 86 °F .
20% chance of anything is relatively low (except for earthquakes). Potentially abhorrent weather at an MMA event is where Wallid Ismail steps in. Dude successfully organized Jungle Fights 17 in the middle of a Brazilian Monsoon and it garnered an attendance of over 2,000. That’s what happens when even mother nature is ‘scare about you’. [Source]
